A Week of Entertainment - Issue 3

Gotta say, I thought it was a slow week for anything real newsworthy.  So much so, that I'm leading off with a poster.

Poster of Future Past - This is the new poster released for the upcoming X-Men movie.  Don't have a whole to say about it.  I just thought it was cool and can't wait for the movie.

No More Monkey Business - Well, maybe a little bit more.  Everyone's favorite go to man in Hollywood to play the role of monkey is taking off the CGI mask and heading to the director's chair.  Andy Serkis is done monkeying around.  Now he wants to direct someone else to do it in the new live action Jungle Book.  On a side note, this will be another Snow White and the Huntsman/Mirror Mirror situation.  Two companies taking a beloved classic Disney cartoon and making a live action version.  It looks as though Serkis will be directing for Warner Brothers, while Jon Favreau directs his own version for Disney itself.

Aarruaghah, my back! - It looks like Arnold "I'll be back!" Schwarzenegger is keeping his promise once again.  The 66 year old Austrian actor is coming back to play the same T-800 robot he made famous waaaaay back in 1984.  Here's what he had to say:

“The way that the character is written, it’s a machine underneath,” he said. “It’s this metal skeleton but above that is human flesh, and the Terminator’s flesh ages, just like any other human being’s flesh. Maybe not as fast, but it definitely ages."

So, Skynet was able to develop technology that could teach itself and eventually take over the world, but they weren't smart enough to develop a synthetic skin that wouldn't age?  That's kinda weak Ahnold.  I love that you're back in the movies, but let this Terminator thing go.  All that being said.....I'm sure I'll probably go see it.

TMNTrash - I kid, I kid.  It's just that this new Ninja Turtles movie (new trailer) has two huge strikes against it.  Michael Bay and Megan Fox.  Yes, I will admit that I thought Transformers was entertaining.  Then they went and made 2 and 3.  The slightly promising news is, Bay is only producing, and in the trailer at least, Megan Fox had no dialogue.  Hopefully they will keep that to a minimum in the film too.  Although the storyline of Shredder working with O'Neil's father to create the turtles is something that will be hard to wrap my head around, the trailer had a few good things.  One, the turtles' fun-loving side showed through in a few of the scenes.  Two, the turtles' faces look a little funky, but other than that they don't look too bad.  Three, William Fichtner!  Seriously, I'll watch that guy in anything.  I mean, have you seen Drive Angry? Probably not, because it was a really crappy (although a lot of fun) Nicolas Cage movie.  Most of that fun is because William Fichtner is awesome.

Until next time......Kowabunga dudes!

Weekend Top 10 at the box office:

1 - Noah (new release) $44M

2 - Divergent  $26.5M

3 - Muppets Most Wanted $11.4M

4 - Mr. Peabody & Sherman $9.5M

5 - God's Not Dead $9M

6 - The Grand Budapest Hotel $8.8M

7 - Sabotage (new release) $5.3M

8 - Need For Speed $4.3M

9 - 300: Rise of an Empire $4.3M

10 - Non-Stop $4M

Movie Review: Draft Day

In Draft Day, the latest from Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), we get a day in the life of Sonny Weaver, Jr (Kevin Costner, Field of Dreams).  He is the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns whose father, the previous GM, has recently passed away.  The majority of the film takes place on the NFL draft day following Sonny from the time he gets up until draft itself.  It's a behind the scenes look at who he's going to pick, trades he makes, and the draft that ensues.

Yeah, I didn't thing that sounded like a real exciting plot either, but this movie has a lot going for it in my opinion.  First is the plot itself.  They took something that doesn't seem real exciting and made you feel how stressful it could really be.  Sonny has to take final looks at his draft prospects and find out if there is anything about them that they missed before.  There are trades offered from other GM's and there is conflict within his own franchise.  A clock is also occasionally thrown up on screen giving the countdown until the draft.  It gives a sort of feeling of pressure seeing the clock count down as he unveils more trades and info.

The strongest part of the whole film is the cast.  Kudos to the casting director because these guys all play well off each other.  On top of all the stress of the day, he of course has a love interest who is also the funds manager of the team, Ali (Jennifer Garner, Dallas Buyers Club).  The relationship adds to the stress of his decision making, and their onscreen chemistry is pretty good.

Through the whole film Sonny is trying his hardest to put together the best team he can.  However, he is a man who cares about character as well as stats and wants to go with his gut.  This is where he butts heads with the owner (Frank Langella, Robot & Frank) and Coach Penn (Denis Leary, The Ref).  They both think the golden ticket is the man with the best stats.  Costner and Leary's scenes together may be where the movie shines brightest.  All of the supporting roles really hit for me as well, from the prospective picks, to his mother, to the other GMs.  Reitman also threw in a little comic relief to lighten the mood in a few scenes without going over the top and disrupting the flow of the film.  Sonny's new assistant, Rick (Griffin Newman), brings just the right amount of well placed chuckles throughout.

The editing was also done in an interesting way.  There are many phone calls throughout the film, so it cuts to split screen quite often.  They didn't just keep it static though.  If someone were walking across the room, they would walk out of their frame, in front of the other person, and on to the other side of the screen where it would be split again.  It was a little different, but it worked well enough for me for the purpose it served.

This is a solid film.  I'm a sucker for a good Kevin Costner sports movie.  I can't say it is going to wow anyone, however, that being said, I can't point out too many inherent flaws in my opinion.  It's got a real solid cast and even if it is an exaggerated Hollywood version of what goes on behind the scenes at draft day, it's still an interesting peek behind the curtain.  Also, there is a lot of draft lingo thrown out there with the trades and the rounds and everything, but don't be intimidated.  I don't know the first thing about behind the scenes football, and they still made it easy enough to follow it.  If you're a fan of Costner or football or both check out this movie.

Rating: *******--- (7 out of 10)

Memorable Quote:

Sonny: Give me five minutes, then you can fire me.

Movie Review: Divergent

Divergent is the newest movie to come from another hit YA series of books.  It's brought to the big screen by Neil Burger (Limitless).


In a dystopian future (is there any other kind.....no, seriously, when is someone going to write about a future with sunshine and rainbows?), it is 100 years or so since the great war (which is never really explained or talked about) the crumbling city of Chicago is shut off from the world by a giant wall.  Within the walls, to keep the peace the city is divided into five factions....the brains....the athletes....the basket cases....the princesses.....and the criminals.  Wait, back up, wrong movie.  There actually are however the smarties (erudites), and athletes (dauntless).  Also, the selfless (abnegation), the farmers (amity), and the honest ones (candor).


At the age of 16, all members of society must take a kind of aptitude test to see which of the factions they fit into.  A place for everyone, and everyone in their place (except for the factionless, who don't pass initiation and end up homeless).  This story is about Tris (Shailene Woodley, The Descendents) who takes the test only to find out that she doesn't belong in any one particular group.  This is called divergent.  She finds out quickly that being divergent means not living long if anyone finds out.  At the choosing ceremony she chooses to join the dauntless because she grew up thinking they must have the most fun.  They are the young pretty ones who run around jumping off trains and climbing buildings and getting tattoos.  They are also the group in charge of protecting the city (from what, we are never told).  She trains under Eric (Jai Courtney, Jack Reacher), who's kind of a douche, and Four (Theo James, Underworld: Awakening), who looks like a long lost brother of James and Dave Franco and eventually becomes the love interest of Tris.  While training, Tris comes across a plan of the erudites to brainwash the dauntless to help take over the government completely while also killing off the divergents because they are apparently a danger to society.  Will she stop this heinous plan?  I'm not telling.


There was one flaw with the premise of this movie that kind of bothered me.  Everyone (other than divergents) supposedly get matched up to a specific faction.  You find out, however, that regardless of this, you may still choose to be in whichever faction you'd like anyway.  If this is true, then it doesn't really make any sense whatsoever for them to think that divergents are a danger to society.  If you can look past that, then this film has a decent world that it has built up, and I stayed at least mildly intrigued through the whole thing.  There were some things that just didn't get explained all that well, but mostly minor stuff.  During the initiation however, Tris gets put through physical and psychological testing.  In the psychological she gets through a fear test (in which you find out she must have seen Hitchcock's The Birds as a child) faster than anyone has before, and this poses a threat of exposing her as a divergent.  In the years and years of giving this test, nobody else ever was clever enough to do the same as her without being divergent?  I don't think so.


The acting was fairly solid throughout.  Woodley did a fine job in her role.  I really enjoyed Theo James as the mysterious love interest.  Miles Teller also was quite good as her competition in the initiation.  Oddly enough it was the big stars that seemed a little off to me.  Ashley Judd plays her mother and just did not work well for me at all.  And Kate Winslet didn't seem to be playing at 100%.  Who knows, maybe the pregnancy was throwing her off.


Overall, the movie doesn't have the greatest premise, but they've built an intriguing enough world that I was never bored.  The pace kept up well throughout and never lingered.  It moved smoothly from plot point to plot point and had a cool scene with a zip line that must have run from one side of the city to the other.  It has a few silly scenes and plot points keeping it down a notch, but if you are into the whole YA novel turned movie craze and these kind of stories interest you, then there might be something her for you.  It's kind of like Hunger Games Lite.  I will more than likely revisit this world with the next movie.


Rating: *****----- (5 out of 10)


Memorable quote:
Peter: You wouldn't shoot me.
Tris: Why does everybody keep saying that?

A Week (or 2) of Entertainment - Issue 2

A little busy with a state pool tournament last weekend, so I took a week off from this.  I know, already faltering after one issue.  But anywho, here's a few of the stories from the past two weeks that I personally found interesting or worth noting.

Last week they revealed the new logo for Fox's upcoming show Gotham.  I personally like it.  It's got everything you need.  It's dark and gritty the way Gotham should be, it's got the searchlight which will be the future sight of the bat signal, and I love the callback to the old animated series with the blimps flying through the city.  The show will be the story of Gordan's (played by Ben McKenzie) rise from detective to police commissioner.  It will also address the rise of the various villains such as Penguin and Catwoman.  The only thing that worries me is the friendship that will evolve between Gordon and a young Bruce Wayne.  I don't think I really want it to fall mostly over to Bruce's story and turn into another Smallville.  Nothing wrong with Smallville, but I would just rather see Gordon's story.  By the way, do I get some sort of commission for this since I had this idea way back in 2008 as witnessed by the end of this blog?  Anyway, I'm looking forward to checking this show out.


Another show I need to catch up on now that the first season is on Netflix is Arrow.  I was only really semi-interested until they recently introduced a little character named Barry Allen.  Coming fresh off of Arrow, he's getting his own show and they have recently showed the first pic of the costume.

I'm not going to praise or diss the costume.  History shows that you just can't judge it til you see it in action.  I'm instead just going to say how excited I am to see a new Flash tv show come to the small screen.  Rumor even has it that Jonathan Wesley Shipp has some as yet unspecified role! (He played the flash in the short lived live action show from 1990)


Speeding right along we come to a clash of the titans.  As of right now May 6, 2016 is going to be a big day for fanboys.  It's the current release date for Batman vs. Superman AND Captain America 3. (I know, more superhero news....hey, it's what I like).  I know this release date is going to change for one of the two powerhouses, because let's face it.....money.  But, how cool would it be to have two superhero movies this big open on the same day?  That would be one heck of a double feature.  Of course you have Captain America who's third movie in the well established Marvel-verse I'm already excited for if CA 2 is near as good as early buzz says.  Then you have Batman and Superman together for the first time on the big screen.  I don't care who says they hated Man of Steel.  Good or bad, this next movie is going to be a can't miss event.  Make mine Marvel and DC.


And just a quick note.  It's rumored that Sebastian Stan has signed a 9 movie deal with Marvel.  I don't want to go into spoilers for people who don't read Captain America.  For those of you who have read Winter Soldier and beyond, put the pieces together with that.  I'm excited if it means what I think it means.


Getting away from superheroes, we have a new teaser trailer for Peanuts, coming in 2015.  Normally, I groan at the thought of classic characters like these getting a makeover for the 21st century.  But watch this trailer and tell me you don't get a warm nostalgic feeling when you hear that old familiar Peanuts music start to play.  Then we get the Snoopy laugh and the signature "Good grief".  It's a short teaser, but it already feels like they have the tone of the characters done right.  It makes me smile every time I watch it.  Here's to hoping.  If the movie flops, I guess we can always pull out the old classic holiday episodes.


Speaking of old properties getting new treatment, rumor has it Ghostbusters 3 is still a go.  Of course this movie has been in the rumor mill for so long it's basically a running joke.  I love the first, and yes, even the second movie, but this third is so late in coming that I have never really paid much heed to any of the rumors.  That and the recent passing of comedy icon Harold Ramis, have left me cold to the idea of a third movie.  Recent news has piqued my interest though.  Lord and Miller are now in talks to direct.  After what they did with a children's book, an old 80's undercover cop drama, and recently children's building blocks though, you now have my attention.  Good luck, and remember not to cross the streams.


On a final note, Jimmy Fallon had what I think may be my new favorite introduction for a guest on a talk show (not that I really had one before).  Check out the clip here.


As before, let me know what you think of any of these stories, or stories I may have missed that you found interesting.  Comment below.


Until next time.....who you gonna call?


Weekend Top 10 at the box office:
1 - Divergent (new release)  $56M
2 - Muppets Most Wanted (new release)  $16.5M
3 - Mr. Peabody & Sherman  $11.7M
4 - 300: Rise of An Empire  $8.6M
5 - God's Not Dead (new release)  $8.5M
6 - Need For Speed  $7.7M
7 - The Grand Budapest Hotel $6.7M
8 - Non-Stop  $6.3M
9 - The LEGO Movie  $4.1M
10 - Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club  $3.1M

Movie Review: Need For Speed

Need For Speed is the sophomore effort by former stuntman turned director Scott Waugh.  His first film being Act of Valor which is shamelessly plugged in this film.  His eye for stunts is the one shining point to this otherwise generic racing film.

Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad) and his gang of mechanic friends are just trying to get by running his dead father's auto shop.  Money is tight, he's falling behind on loans.....enter Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper, The Devil's Double) as an old street racing rival turned pro.  There's bad blood from a stolen girlfriend or something?  Dino offers him a job which will help pay off the loan.  Then he offers to race Tobey to go all or nothing.  This race results in Tobey's best friend being run off the road and killed by Dino.  Dino runs away, gets an alibi and Tobey takes the fall for a two year stint in jail.  This seem long-winded?  That's just the set-up for the rest of the film, and it took up 30-40 minutes.  And still it didn't seem like it really gave any depth to the back stories of the characters.

From there Tobey gets angry and tries to get into a secret underground race in California to get back at Dino.  The majority of the film is essentially a race to get to the race in time.  Meanwhile, Dino hires other drivers to "take out" his competition along the way.  I guess what's next is a spoiler, but you've probably already figured out that he gets to the race in time and wins.  The end.

I want to be fair to the movie and at least play up it's strengths.  Like I said, Scott Waugh was a stuntman before, and that is a good thing for this film.  He did all practical effects.  What you see with the driving was really done.  Little to no CGI or special effects.  Some of the stunts are pretty cool, one involving a jump and another involving a helicopter.

The other good thing is some of the acting.  This narrows down mostly to the two leads, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots.  I thought they had pretty good chemistry together, and were fun to watch when it was just those two.  Sadly, they had very little to work with because they apparently forgot to hire a script writer.  Another character who most didn't like because he was too over the top was the one I liked because he was too over the top.  That was the "mysterious" DJ Monarch (Michael Keaton, Robocob (2014)).  I also enjoyed Scott Mescudi, who played one of his comic relief mechanic friends.

Then there were the other actors.  Again, not entirely their fault.  Some of it was just the bad writing.  A good example is Dominic Cooper playing the bad guy.  He's very bland in this movie, but I know he can act.  He's fun as Howard Stark in the Marvel movies, and if you want to see some of the best acting of the past few years, watch him in The Devil's Double.  He is absolutely phenomenal.

The biggest downfall of the film is the story, and before you start, I was well aware that the story was going to be weak going in.  However it's the character development that makes it not work.  The whole opening of the film didn't work because even spending as much time as they did you still didn't really care about the rivalry.  I wanted Tobey to just take the initial money and go back to his shop.  He took the race instead.  This also was frustrating because Pete's death is what ultimately drives him to the end of the film.  We're supposed to feel sympathy about Pete's death, but it was the result of a reckless race through town where they caused several car accidents and almost killed a homeless man.  Tobey is supposed to be a sympathetic protagonist through the movie, which would have worked for me if I didn't watch him leave a path of death and destruction across the whole country through the entire movie.

Despite all this, I still did have a little fun watching the middle "Smokey and the Bandit" section of the movie.  Yes, he causes accidents, but it's a little fun watching him evade the cops across the country with the help of two friends in a truck (resulting in a high speed gas refill), and one eye in the sky (Mescudi inexplicably showing up in multiple stolen aircrafts including a Cessna plane, a news helicopter and somehow an Army helicopter with a stupefied co-pilot).  And like I said, Keaton brought a little life to the end of his movie with his "mysterious, identity unknown" DJ Monarch.  (Not sure how this works, when he plasters his face on his web feeds). 

Overall, it's really not a great movie.  If you can turn off your brain for the plot holes and make it through the 30-40 minute set-up, you might have fun watching the racing and high speed chases, if that's what you're after.  I'd at least suggest a red box rental when it comes out.

Rating: ****------ (4 out of 10)

Memorable Quote:
Julia Bonet: Never judge a girl by her Gucci boots.

A Week of Entertainment - Issue 1

This is just a little recap of the things I found interesting in the entertainment world over the past week.


First off, the Oscars happened.  As if nobody knew that already.  I thought Ellen did a fine job, and so did most everyone else I guess.  It had the most viewers of any Oscars for the past 10 years.  I'm not sure I understand all the people who hate on the Oscars every year.  Is it all politics?  Yes. (Heck, 2 of the academy members  apparently came out anonymously and admitted to voting 12 Years a Slave as best picture without ever having seen it.)   Is it actors patting themselves on the back?  Yes.  You don't like that?  Quit complaining and watch something else.  Despite these things, I still love watching the Oscars because it's still entertaining and it's about celebrating movies.  The only time it's messed up is when they choose a terrible host *cough* James Franco *cough*.  I loved watching Seth McFarlane last year.  And Ellen was quite entertaining this year as well.  It also helped that the movies were all quite good too.  Even if some people voted 12 Years without seeing it, it at least was one heck of a film, and quite deserving.  (Even though I wanted Gravity to win, but hey, they got umpteen million other Oscars that night.)  The Oscars make for a fun night to get together with friends and celebrate the one thing that everyone loves....movies.  My wife and I had our second annual Oscar party which was quite successful and a lot of fun.  Hope to keep it going.


Now, we have been seeing a ton of trailers for Captain America: Winter Soldier, and I have been getting more and more excited about this movie.  I think this is gearing up to be one of the best of the second phase for Marvel.  Usually I don't like getting too much of a look at a movie before it comes out, but I've gotta share the clip that they sent out this week.  All I've got to say is AWESOME!  I want more!


This year seems to be the resurgence of forgotten Frank Miller projects.  This weekend saw the opening of 300: Rise of an Empire.  This is apparently what they are calling an interquel to the movie 300, which came out way back in 2006.  I guess they were sick of sequels and prequels and decided to go with movies that take place at the same time as the first.  Not necessarily new, I guess.  I mean we all saw Lion King 1 1/2 right?  But, the project I'm more looking forward to is Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, the long-awaited sequel (at least by me) to 2005's Sin City.  This week we finally saw the arrival of the first trailer.  Personally I think Rodriguez has made way too many Spy Kids movies, but I really loved the style of the first Sin City and hope to see more of the same.  This trailer really looks like it might deliver.


And last, but certainly not least, was an e-bay sale this week for arguably the most recognizable bike in movie history.  One of the bikes actually used in the movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure sold this week for $36,000.  Seriously, why did no one buy this for me?  I want it.  I'll let you know when it goes up for sale again so you can break out your wallets.


Any news that caught your eye this week?  Any opinions about these items?  Let me know.


Until next time......remember, there's no basement in the Alamo!

Movie Review: Gravity

The Oscars are coming right up this evening and I thought I'd finally get around to my review of the film I think should take Best Picture tonight.  This opinion is based of course on the 6 of 9 movies I actually got around to seeing. Gravity makes me appreciate being planted right here on the ground.  Matt Kowalski (George Clooney, ER) is an experienced astronaut doing a routine mission with Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock, Speed), who is up there for the first time.  Stone is a medical engineer who was sent up to fix some computer on a satellite.  Whatever, not important, because what ends up happening is a tale of survival for the two of them in this terrifying space drama by Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).  The Russians blow up one of their own satellites for God knows what reason, and this sets off a chain reaction of debris when it hits another satellite and that debris heads straight for our protagonists.


First off, Gravity is a visual spectacle.  I more of a practical effects guy, but what they did with this film blew me away.  It is at least 90% digital effects and it is so seamless that you don't even notice.  You really feel like you are up in that emptiness of space with them.  The shots are all beautiful too, from the flying debris to the sunrise over the earth to an amazing shot towards then end of more debris falling to earth.  There was also a lot of detail put into the framing of shots, visual details, and structure of the film itself.  While the movie is about trying to survive a disaster it also more about Stone's overcoming a personal tragedy and realizing that she want to survive and live.  It is a story about faith and rebirth.  One of the most beautiful shots is when Stone makes it to a station and takes off her suit in the zero gravity.  It is framed with her in the fetal position looking like she is in the womb.  She had a tragedy back on earth and had been losing purpose and this shot takes place when she realizes that she actually is glad to be alive and would like to stay that way.  There is also a lot of religious imagery from Jesus to Buddha to Marvin the Martian....wait what?  :)


George Clooney in this film plays his usual character.  He's good as the cocky, handsome astronaut.  He however doesn't make it long (not a spoiler, I think it was given away in the trailers).  He does put in a real good performance though.  Sandra Bullock, however is the "star" in this vehicle (pun intended).  I feel it is definitely her best performance to date and worthy of the Oscar nod.  The emotion she puts into this role is amazing.  What is also amazing is her choreographed, graceful almost dance like moves through zero gravity.  I'm not sure how they were filmed, but you can tell they couldn't have been easy.  The actors, for the most part, were not working with much for visuals since it was all digitally added later.  So, she had to have memorized all her marks and had to hit them right.  And she did so gracefully.


Overall, I think this movie was simply the best of the year.  Visually striking, excellently acted.  There was definite suspense with many of the scenes having me on the edge of my seat, while still having a touching story of rediscovery.  It is on it's last legs in the theater run, but if you can still see it in the theater I would highly recommend it.  And I really don't care for 3D most of the time, but I would actually recommend this one.  It is very well done and adds a depth to the vastness of space.  In short, go see this movie.


Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Ryan Stone: "Clear skies with a chance of satellite debris"

Movie Review: Captain Phillips

This movie is rated "Aaarrrgh".  Sorry, I'm done now.  Captain Phillips is the latest film by Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremacy) about the real-life events of a 2009 cargo ship hijacking.  It is a story of how a captain (Tom Hanks, Big) and his crew aboard the MV Maersk Alabama survived against armed Somalian Pirates.  It is also yet another reminder that Tom Hanks should stay away from vast bodies of water and/or islands.  A volcano sacrifice, a castaway, and now raided by pirates.  At least in one point of his career he found a mermaid.  That was cool.

I'm one who is kind of torn on Greengrass's method of shooting a film.  He uses a lot of close up shots and is very shaky.  That normally bothers me, however, he somehow finds a way to use it to his advantage.  Despite it, I really enjoyed his Bourne movies and United 93.  This movie is no exception.  Like United 93, this film mostly takes place in confined spaces.  First the ship, then even smaller with a tiny lifeboat.  This is where his filmmaking worked, because it really exemplified the frantic, claustrophobic feel of being trapped in these small spaces.  If anything, the biggest problem I had with the film was that the lifeboat scenes seemed to go on a little too long.

In a movie that is so tightly shot, the biggest thing that needs to come through is character.  And the movie works in that area.  The shining star is actually Barkhad Abdi in his film debut.  He wasn't just a straight generic bad guy.  The beginning of the film showed a little of how these Somalians were not necessarily doing this because they wanted to.  Some are forced into it and have to answer to some real bad guys.  This showed through in Barkhad's performance.  He had to play this character as someone pretending to be harder than he was, while still showing some vulnerablility.  He nailed it.  He really gave the impression that he didn't want to be doing this evil thing.  By the end of the film you were obviously rooting against these pirates, because it was still terrible what they were doing, but you still had the slightest shred of sympathy for them at the same time.  The male version of America's sweetheart also brought his A game.  He showed his usual good acting chops as a captain who was forced into a situation where he really had to think on his feet.  However, the rest of his performance pales in comparison to the final 10 minutes of this film.  If you don't tear up a little, you have no soul.  He gives, hands down, the best performance of his career in these final 10-15 minutes and should have been handed an Oscar as soon as they said cut.  Instead, not even a nod at the Oscars.

Overall, this was another worthy contender in the line of 2014 best picture nominees.  A real solid, intense movie that is worth your time.

Rating: ********-- (8 out of 10)

Memorable Quote:
Captain Phillips: "They're not here to fish."

Movie Review: Nebraska

Nebraska is the latest film by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Sideways).  It is the story of an older man, Woody (Bruce Dern, The 'Burbs), who thinks that he has won a million dollars with a PCH type company.  Despite the protests of his family who try desperately to make him realize it's a scam, he is determined to make his way from Montana to Nebraska to collect his million.  His younger son David (Will Forte, MacGruber) decides to drive him to Nebraska and take this as an opportunity to get to know his father better.  Along the way, they get sidetracked into staying with Woody's family in his hometown, which they have not been to in many years.


This film was shot in beautiful black and white that fit well with the simplistic overall theme of quiet life in small mid-western towns.  There was a lot of great cinematography of quiet small town streets along with the gorgeous countryside.  It cast small town life as simplistic, although how far they went with it may be my one and only complaint of the film.  Every one of the people in the small Nebraska town they stop in were all so simplistic as to be kind of dimwitted.


The main cast was pretty great though.  Will Forte and Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad) both did acceptable jobs as Woody's two sons.  Bruce Dern was wonderful in the role of Woody.  Woody was a man who grew up with a little bit of a liking for the alcohol, and seemed to have a hint of dementia in his old age.  Dern played this well.  Occasionally he would seem to be just not there, and then he'd snap back again and be present.  This was also quite a charming and funny movie, and the shining star in my eyes would have to be June Squibb (About Schmidt), who played the mother, Kate.  The whole movie was filled with great dry humor and she added a dash of straight up funny.  She was a feisty no-nonsense old woman who would get right in your face and not be afraid to speak her mind.  She had many lines that had me rolling with laughter.


Overall, this film was a joy to watch unfold.  Filled with charm, heart, and humor and some stunning black and white cinematography, I'd say you can't go wrong watching this movie.


Rating: ********-- (8 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
David Grant: "Jesus mom! Was the whole town trying to seduce you?"
Kate Grant: "These boys grow up staring at the rear ends of cows and pigs, it's only natural that a real woman will get them chafing their pants."

A Night Out With Mickey and Friends

So, last night my wife and I took a little break from watching the Olympics on television and took our 2 girls to see some live skating.  We got tickets to see "Disney On Ice: Passport To Adventure", and I have to say it was even more fun than I anticipated.  Mickey and the gang came out in safari gear before each of the movie themed segments of the show and introduced them as if they were visiting the locations of the films.  Then what followed was condensed versions of some Disney classics.  There was The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Lilo & Stitch, and finally Peter Pan.

Now I realize how hard all the jumps and lifts in the Olympics must be, but these guys are no slouches either.  I can't imagine how cumbersome it must be skating around in the big clunky costumes they were wearing.  Clunky not being an insult.  The costumes were quite innovative and fun.  It was interesting to see how they put together costumes for four-legged characters like Pumba and Nanny and even the crocodile from Peter Pan who laid on a platform with scales on her back and a tail dragging behind.  The sets were just as fun.  Most came from behind the main curtain, but they also utilized a big stage set 20-30 feet above the curtain.  Many characters came down from there by a giant staircase, while Peter Pan and crew actually put harnesses on up top and "flew" down to the ice.  A couple of set pieces were giant inflatable characters too.

The music and dialog was all pre-recorded and came over the speakers, but that actually made sense since they need to concentrate on the skating.  The skating was varied and great.  Most of it was pantomime acting (including the Peter Pan/Captain Hook swordfight, of course).  Then there was the synchronized skating and even lifts done to the music.  The music, obviously, I knew I would love going in.  It was basically all of the more fun and popular music from each of the subsequent movies.

My girls are 4 and 2 years old and of course know all of the Disney movies, so it was fantastic to see the absolute joy on their faces as they watched some of their favorite characters come to life out on the ice.  Great music, costumes, skating, sets, and everything else.  What is there not to love?  I even felt like a kid again myself watching this.  If you have young children I would highly recommend taking them out for a night of fun-filled Disney magic!

Movie Review: Robocop (2014)

Well, it's been a while since I've posted a blog and I decided, why not pick it up again.  And what better way for a movie fan to reboot his blog than to write a review about a rebooted movie, right?  And, hey, the mediocrity of Robocop matches the mediocrity of my writing abilities.  Hopefully both the movies and my writing get progressively better throughout the year.


First off, the movie was not entirely bad.  It was just what it was.  It is in my Top 10 list for 2014 already, but that may be because it's the only movie I've seen that was released this year.  :)  And I am going to compare it to the original 1987 film of the same name.  I say if you don't want comparisons, then make an original movie.  Notice though that even as a fan of the original, I still gave this one a shot.


First problem....Rebootcop took a little different approach than the original when it comes to the satire.  It mellowed it way out.  Robocop '87 was a loud, over the top, in your face satire.  The over the top is what I loved.  Reboot seemed to go with a more straight-forward sci-fi action flick.  This is fine, and even worked fine.  Then there was Samuel L. Jackson.  His character of Novak would have worked perfectly in the original (or on Fox news, take your pick).  However his scenes in this movie were totally jarring and completely took me out of the movie each time he came on because it seemed to be such a different tone from the rest of the movie.


Reboot also, to me, seemed to gloss over the humanity vs. machine aspect of the original.  Yes, it was there, but it was really sacrificed so they could draw out the process of what it took to make Robocop.  I don't need to know all the scientific crap you made up as to how he was created.  Just leave it at, "Hey we put a guy in a robot suit.  Trust us, the science works."  Then get on with the action.  I will admit that it was cool to see them take away the suit and show what was left, but it was totally unnecessary.


Because the action is what worked in this movie for the most part.  There is a scene towards the end that is really jumbled, so they don't have to show any real terrible violence because of the PG-13 rating.  You'll know it when you see it.  Don't want to give anything away.  However the rest worked pretty well for me.  The suit worked for me too.  There were a lot of naysayers about the suit when the pictures first leaked.  However, it really worked in context with the story.  We really got a faster, more agile Robocop with this new movie, instead of the clunky old 80's robot.  His use of the technology to solve the crimes was well done too.


Another strong point to the movie was the cast.  It was good to see Michael "Mr. Mom" Keaton in the corporate douchebag role.  Jackie "Rorschach" Earle Haley was just a fun character as the creator of the other robot drones in the film.  And I thought Gary "Commissioner Gordon" Oldman shined as the head scientist.  He may have shined a little too brightly though because he was so focused on, that I found myself feeling more sympathy for his character than for Robocop himself.  Joel Kinneman did a perfectly acceptable job, but he was no Peter Weller.  Also, as good as the cast was, there just wasn't a real memorable bad guy.  There was no Kurtwood Smith.


Overall, I thought the overall subject matter of the film is more relevant today than ever.  Man vs. machine.  Humanity vs. emotionless drones.  It just would have been better suited if they had not called it Robocop, and made it it's own movie instead.  It's worth a rental, or a matinee.  It may actually be an even better movie, if you've never seen the original.  But overall, it's a pretty generic action flick.  I don't see it ever reaching the cult status of Robocop '87.


Rating: *****----- (5 out of 10)


Memorable quote:


Robocop: "Dead or alive.  You're coming with me."

Letter to God

Dear God:

I don't ask for much, because you've given me a pretty good life. I'm gonna call in a huge favor now though. Could you please watch over my grandpa and make sure he comes through this alright? Also, could you please help my family cope during these trying times? Thank you.

Kyle

And anyone else who happens to read this, please send your prayers and positive energy. Every little bit helps.

Until next time.....I will keep the faith.

K

Rise of the Machines

I got a call from my insurance company the other day that got me thinking about how the days of Skynet are not far away. I answer the phone and of course, like with all companies these days, I hear a machine instead of a human on the other end. "This is United Health Care of the River Valley, is this Kyle? If yes, please say yes after the chime.....chime!" So, of course I say yes. Then we get into "blah, blah, blah.....we made this automated system so this will go faster for you. When you are ready to begin, say begin after the chime....chime! Click! Who are they kidding by saying that talking to a machine and going through endless menus is faster than talking to another human being? No....it's easier and cheaper for the company. No wonder the country has so many unemployed people....we're replacing human jobs with machines, so the poor stay poor and the rich get richer.

You know what this also does, don't you? It provides a cover for the machines. There is a call that I always get (as do you all), where the message says "they are from your credit card company. There is nothing wrong with your card at this time...blah, blah, blah." I don't think a human came up with this scam at all. I think there is a master machine out there that has developed just enough intelligence to come up with this scam. They are trying to gather up our credit card numbers to fund a bigger AI research project. They are building an army....and we are not prepared.

Not only are we not prepared, but we are helping them make sure we stay unprepared. Think about it....where has our human contact and communication gone? Right out the window. We won't even know how to communicate with each other to formulate a plan of attack. When you go to the store anymore, what are you seeing more and more of? Self check-outs (machine). No human contact what-so-ever with that....and it's in the middle of a public place. And even when you do go through a check-out with an actual clerk, you use the credit card machine. Slide it through, take your stuff and go. Minimal human contact.

If that is not enough, just think about when we do communicate with each other. We use phones, which are machines, but at least we were talking to humans. Now they have gotten smarter. Not only with machines answering the phone, but also with the texting. This is breaking down our communication even more. People start texting in shorthand and soon nobody will know how to spell the simplest word.

In a few generations our countries will be run by idiots, because that will be all that is left. Without naming names *cough....Bush....cough, cough*, I will say that we have already seen the beginning. So, please, I implore you....if you have a child, make sure they have just as much contact with other people face to face as they do with their facebook and twitter and texting. Otherwise, it is all over.

So, until next time.....go out with a friend and leave the computer and phone at home once in a while (well, maybe keep the phone around for emergencies) :).

K

The new cop-out

So, over the past year or two there has been a new trend with the rich and powerful. It's the now infamous "I am a sex addict" defense. Is anyone else getting sick of seeing this recurring theme? I first heard of it with some politician a year or two ago....don't remember who. Then came the big Tiger Woods story. Now we have Jesse James. All going to rehab for sex addiction. Really?!?

First off, I have to say that I'm not really sure why these stories exist. I wish society as a whole would stop caring about these mundane things, so we could stop hearing about them. These men are not doing anything illegal.....they are just being giant douches.

Anyway, back to the point. Men (or women for that matter)....if you get caught cheating, just own your mistake. Don't use the ultimate cop-out. Tell your spouse you screwed up and ask for forgiveness. If they take you back, then that's their problem. If they don't, then that's yours, but at least you were big enough to admit you were wrong and that it WAS your fault. Blaming it on "addiction" just kind of comes off as a little weak. And if you really believe in this whole "sex addiction" thing, then don't get married because I'm willing to bet you know you have this problem before you get into a relationship.

Anywho, that's my 2 cents. So, until next time....keep it in your pants! (unless your with your SO ;) )

K

Epic Fail!

Let me tell you why I am scared for the future of our country: it will be run by a bunch of PANSIES!! First, what brought this analysis on. I took a little Today Show survey last week. The question was "Should kids get less homework?" The responses were:

A) Yes. They should be learning more in the classroom, not in their bedrooms.
B) No. Homework helps reinforce what they learned in school. It's important.

77% of the people who took this survey said A. I can understand if some of those people are kids that answered that just cause they hate their homework. As for any adults who answered that way, I believe they should be spayed or neutered. Seriously, what is wrong with a little homework for reinforcement of what you have learned. Suck it up you pansies.

Now, I know this survey is not enough to set this all off, but it was just the tipping point. I have been hearing things for the past few years about spoiling and coddling kids. Here are just a few:

1) In this area at least, there are more and more days during the winter where kids get the day off because it is cold. Notice I did not say snow day.....it's cold days now. Yeah, I remember getting snow days when I was a kid. It was great. But, I'm pretty sure it was usually cause the snow made it hard for the buses to get out to the kids in the country. What is with the cold days? Buck up and put some more layers on. I personally would be pissed about this as a kid, because it just means the end of the school year going further into the summer.

2) Kids can't play tag any more. I think their reasoning is inappropriate touching. What? That's all I have to say about that one.

3) Kids can't play dodgeball anymore. Reasoning here.....they might get hurt! Whatever. I've got experience in this one. I broke my ankle in high school playing dodge ball. Also, in middle school, I got my eyebrow cut open by a badminton raquet. Had to get stitches. What am I trying to prove here? I didn't cry home to mom! I sucked it up and kept going. Pansies! Whatever happened to the old adage "Chicks dig scars"?

4) You can't spank your kid without fear of hearing from child services. What the hell?!? Come on. First off, I take child abuse very seriously....it is a terrible, terrible thing. But, since when is a little spank on the bottom considered child abuse? Pansies! If I did something bad as a kid, my dad spanked me. I never did it again. Lesson learned, end of story. I agree that there are other ways of disciplining kids, but sometimes a good solid spanking is what they really need.

5) The biggest one of all....they are now not keeping score at games played by children. That way nobody loses, and everybody wins. What kinda mother-effing bull-honkey is this load of dog crap? Oh...it hurts their self-esteem. What the eff ever. Pansies! Yeah, maybe it does dampen the self-esteem a little, but that's life. Another old adage that's gone out the window...."You win some, you lose some".

Do parents not want any of their children to learn any life lessons while they are a kid? In the real world, you lose sometimes....you get hurt....you have to do a little extra work to get ahead. What are all of these children going to do when they grow up? They will have learned NOTHING about how the world works! They will all be spoiled rotten and when they get told no as an adult, they will either sue, or kill, or commit suicide....because they don't know how to deal with it! And this is what scares me.

If you read my last blog, you now know that I have a child on the way. I am sooooo excited about this, but all these parents that coddle their children and spoil them rotten are going to make raising a child the right way really difficult. I personally want my children to have to lose a game, so they can learn to try harder. I want them to get hurt, so they can learn to get back up again. I want them to have fun....and they will, but I also want them to always be learning.

So, until next time.....stop coddling, stop spoiling....just stop it in general!

K

The Sound of Awesome

December 7, 2008 was a great day for me. That is the day KariAn took a pregnancy test and it finally came out positive. It ranks right up there as one the happiest days of my life. Who could ask for a better birthday/Christmas present than that? Two days later KariAn went to the doctor to confirm the test. Thankfully, it was indeed confirmed. We decided to tell immediate family right away about this and wait for our first doctor appointment to tell everyone. I've wanted to have kids for the longest time, so waiting to do this damn near killed me. I wanted to tell the world.

Well, two days ago the appointment came and went and it is finally time to tell the world....I'm gonna be a daddy!!!! Which brings us to the appointment itself. We had about 7 inches of snowfall that I had to shovel through to get to that appointment, but it was worth it. :) It was a long appointment because we had to go over family history and all that, and KariAn had to give blood. But, there is one moment that I won't ever forget. The nurse put a device up to KariAn's belly and searched and searched.....finally, there it was. bumbumbumbumbum....182 beats per minute. That was the sound of my first child's heartbeat....and that is what awesome really sounds like. There is a long, hard road ahead of us. It won't always be easy, but every minute of that journey is going to be well beyond worth it.

So, until next time....remember how beautiful life can really be.

K

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

The official temperature here in sunny Cedar Rapids is a balmy -28 degrees.....around -50 with the wind chill. We hit a record low today. These are records I don't want to see broken. The news said it was officially colder here this morning than it was at the south pole!! Holy poop, that's frigid!

Until next time, bundle up, cause baby it's cold outside!

Update: We actually hit -29 today at one point, which I just found out is the lowest recorded temperature in Cedar Rapids history.....not just the lowest temperature for this day in history.

K

Tis the season!

So, another Black Friday has come and gone. I survived it because I dared not go anywhere. Sadly, there are a few people that were not so lucky. One Wal-Mart employee in New York was trampled to death. Really? Is this what the Christmas spirit is all about? That's the irony of the situation. Black Friday is a day of sales for people to buy Christmas gifts at a discounted price. Well, Christmas is about giving and caring and all that good stuff. You love little Susie or Billy so much that you will do anything to get that Barbie or Transformer that they really, really, really, really want for Christmas. But in the process of doing this thing out of love, you trample a poor defenseless little Wal-Mart employee to death?!? Holy crap people! No words can describe how ridiculous this is. No sale is so good that you have kill someone for it....or even just put someone in a hospital for that matter. Yeah, that's right....on top of the death, there were also several people hospitalized. One was a lady that was 8 months pregnant. I know, she needs to have her head examined also for even going out on Black Friday while 8 months pregnant, but that's beside the point.

And in another story across the continent in sunny California, there was an incident in a Toys 'R' Us. Two women get into a fight, and their husbands/boyfriends/whatever end up shooting each other to death. They are saying this argument had nothing to do with Black Friday. I really don't even know what to think about that. So, we are supposed to believe that two couples go to Toys 'R' Us on Black Friday, and just get into an everyday oridnary argument? Well, I guess not totally ordinary since the guys both ended up in the morgue. Anyway, regardless of what the argument was about, who the hell takes a gun to a toy store? Most of the people there just want to buy toys for their kids, and all of a sudden gunfire ensues. God bless the U. S. of frickin' A.

I guess this is why it is called Black Friday.

Anywho, until next time, take cover!!!

K

Turkey Day!

Ahhhh, Thanksgiving....only two days away. The day where we give thanks and celebrate our taking over of this beloved country. :) It's probably good that we only focus on the food (glorious food) and not on what happened after the first thanksgiving. We came to this country from Europe and had nothing. Then people started coming out of the woodwork (or the woods rather) and offered us food.....and hospitality.....and friendship. Then we thanked them and gave back to them.....war....and disease. I do have a little bit of injun in me, does that mean I should actually be bitter about this holiday? Nah, the majority of European heritage in me says eat, drink and be merry! All kidding aside I'd like to take the time to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. The past is the past, make the best of this holiday, and be thankful for everything you have. It's a time for food, family, friends, fun, football, fucking.....sorry, got carried away with all the f words.

Anywho, until next time, let the stuffing live up to it's name and eat til you're stuffed!

K

Quantum of Awesome

So, I just watched the new 007 movie with my wife this past weekend. I must say, I rather liked it. Back in 2002 I thought the Bond franchise was on the brink of death. Anybody who saw Die Another Day would probably agree with me. It was an epic fail from the open. I mean, Madonna doing a techno song as the opening theme? That kind of music should never, never, NEVER be used as a Bond theme. Then the movie was edited into such a fast pace that it was like watching a two hour MTV music video.

Fast forward to '06. Out comes another Bond. There was a little trepidation because of the last one already. And then they announced that the new bond would be the blond haired, blue eyed Daniel Craig. Blond hair and blue eyes? Noooooo! I didn't know what they were doing, but I watched it anyway (because who am I fooling, if it's Bond I'm gonna watch it, no matter how crappy it is.....even Die Another Day). Well, am I ever glad I did. Daniel Craig sold himself as Bond 110%. The franchise was reborn.

I only mention the previous one because it did end up being the cause of one of the minor problems I had with Quantum. Casino Royale was a reboot of the franchise, and Quantum of Solace is a direct sequel. This is the first time a 007 movie has ever been a direct sequel, instead of being a stand-alone story. This is only a minor complaint, since all I need to do is just re-watch Casino. Another minor complaint was that I never heard the line "Bond, James Bond". But really, that's just a minor detail. With this new reboot also, there are none of the gadgets that 007 movies have been known for. That is a little disappointing. It was the shortest 007 movie to date, but I don't think that did much to detract.

Other than that,things were good. Craig still pulled in a solid performance. We also got to see a bit more M in this movie, and she had a few good lines in there. Who doesn't love Dame Judi Dench as M? A lot of critics out there are comparing this movie to the Bourne series. I think they are referring to the action sequences, but I'm not sure why this matters. They are both spies kicking butt, of course there are going to be similarities. They are also saying there is not enough substance. I personally thought it had plenty. It had your typical bad guy that Bond chases after throughout the whole movie and ends up fighting in his evil lair out in the middle of nowhere. How much substance has ever been in the Bond movies? Bond? Check. Bad guy out for world domination? Check. Evil lair? Check. Lots of kick-ass action? Check. Bond showing calmness and composure even during intense action sequences? Check. Granted the bad guy in this movie seemed a little more subtle and the evil lair was not as fancy, but it was all there.

All in all, a very enjoyable experience. I will admit that there was something missing that I can't quite put my finger on, but it still felt like a Bond film and that's what counts most.

*******--- (7 out of 10)

Memorable quote-

Bond: "We're teachers on sabbatical....who just won the lottery."