Prisoners

Preface: Don't watch this if you have children. This movie is your gritty, tough reality take on child abbuction and there's is absolutely nothing glorious or glamorous about it. This movie joins a super "blue collar" family of Hugh Jackman and Marie Bellows, perfectly cast I may add, and Terrence Howard and Viola Davis (perfectly cast) as your white collar family. Both parents have 6ish year old daughters abducted under questionable circumstances and a great movie occurs. Jake Gyllenhal fills in as your consumed by the job police detective who has solved every case presented to him, coincidentally. I think the casting is just perfect and I loved that aspect. You live through the abduction, and Hackman abducting the character of Paul Dano (again, truly perfect casting) as essentially a mentally handicapped man living with his aunt in an RV. I really don't want to ruin anything because it plays out magnificentally, but there is the police hunt for the girl's, and then the Hackman's personal hunt. The movie separates into almost two parts, but you're all-in for both of them. I was a huge fan that was along for the ride I felt. I complained about a few parts, but it's completely acceptable since it's uncharted territory. It almost forces you to took inward and think about what you would do if your child was taken, and that is really terrifying. It was great work in my opinion. Bottom Line: 8.3 out of 10. I don't want to dive into specifics, but I certainly think it's worth your rental. The story and cast is excellent, and that normally denotes an excellent movie. Gyllenhal, who I normally don't like, turns in an excellent performance as well as the VERY good Hugh Jackman. Jump on board before someone ruins the specifics for you and try to get into an excellent film. Excellent job by all, but the ending does leave you a little unsatifisfied, hence the hindered rating for all the great praise.

Duck Dynasty Guy

I'm amazed a simple comment from a simple man has created such a shitstorm. He's an old redneck who does and says whatever he wants. I feel we got a very TAME version of what we could have gotten knowing he was being interviewed by GQ and odds of failure were incredibly high. Here's Phil Robertson's actual quote: “It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus," Robertson told GQ. "That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.” “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine," he later added. “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.” Why is that surprising? A guy who lives in the swamps of LA in the middle of nowhere is a religous man who says whatever he wants. He at least goes on to basically quote Johnny Cash in "God is Gonna to Cut you Down" saying a lot of people aren't worthy of heaven in his mind. You can hear this at various churches throughout the world every Sunday if you look hard enough. It was very insensitive to group homosexuality with bestiality, but he also throws in drunkards, swindlers, slanderers, AND male prostitutes. Nobody else gets up in arms about being told their going to hell. If you get offended by Phil Robertson saying these things about your lifestyle, you probably need to re-examine yourself. Now it's wasting everyone's time and A&E is shooting themselves in the foot by suspending Phil Robertson from by far the most successful show they have since the family will not continue without Phil on the show. This is just mass public opinion suicide for all involved. If I were a competing, smaller network I'd jump ALL OVER signing the Robertson family. If I'm TLC (for example) I would certainly be contacting their people. My favorite is his freedom of speech is protected, just not from cable executives. NOBODY is infringing on his rights, but stupidity generally is expensive. You can say whatever you want, there just are consequences. The Robertson's will land on their feet and their devout right-wing crowd will follow them wherever. GLAAD will get nowhere and waste time and money acting like this is a big deal. Nobody wins ANYTHING in this, which is why it's just mass public opinion suicide. Why aren't we smarter than this as a society?

Anchorman 2

I detest seeing comedies in theatres because you will always have some idiots laughing WAY too loud, for WAY too long, and this was of course the case for when I saw Anchorman 2. Overcoming all that, I still had a really good time because this movie is funny. It's funny because it has a great cast. They fall in love with REALLY pushing funny situations as far as possible. It's completely ridiculous, but it's often funny. SPOILER EXAMPLE: Will Ferrell helps raise a shark. There are several things that have no business being there, but it's often funny, so I'll allow it. The film starts out joining Ron and Veronica Corningstone as evening news anchors in New York. Harrison Ford is stepping down as THE nightly news anchor (great cameo) and he chooses Veronica for the job and fires Ron on the spot. Things go sideways for Ron, but before rock-bottom hits there is a 24 hour news network forming and they want Ron to anchor on it. Ron gathers the old gang, hilarity ensues, they get to New York. The jokes are everywhere and come constantly. They have a black women as News Director, so that's cheap laughs. Brick and Kristen Wiig's character are as dumb as possible and fall in love, so there's more cheap laughs. Paul Rudd is back, automatic cheap laughs. The sum of the cheap laughs are enough to carry the film through a weak plot. They do an excellent job of making fun of the state of our current cable news networks, so that's nice. I certainly don't want to ruin any of the laughs, but I'm sure there's just miles of film that's amazing we will never get to see. The filming style is to have a script, but then allow the characters to just adlib the scene a bunch of different ways to see what they like best. We don't get to see Ron talking about blowing a huge load saying "It was like shooting a shotgun into a bucket of white paint", or "That was like the eruption of Krakatoa, only with ejaculate". I read that in Rolling Stone and I feel like we got robbed from a lot of fun with this movie being PG-13. We can only hope for an unrated release on blu-ray later, but who knows. Bottom Line: 7.6 out of 10. It's certainly worth watching, but it will be better to watch it at home without random asshole laughing like he's being tortured via electroshock.

Hunger Games: Catching Fire (NBA Jam shoud probably sue...)

The 2nd installment of the Hunger Games Series (I never read the books) finds our heroine Katniss and "Hero" Peeta back home in District 12. Void of fanfare and the rich, amazing life that was promised after winning the 74th Hunger Games. They aren't in love, or even really seeing each other in any way. Katniss still has something for Gale, the rugged woodsman/factory worker. She still hunts and enjoys the outdoors and apparently saving her family. President Snow (DONALD SUTHERLAND!) visits her at her home explaining that she needs to convince the other districts, and most importantly himself, that she is in love with Peeta. They live 25 yards away, but never speak (so much for life threatening events bringing people together, FUCKING SPEED.) They go on a promotional tour of the other districts to show they are happy and inspire hope and happiness. District 11 is stop #1 where Katniss is supposed to read a prepared statement that Peeta handles. They honor the families of the lost "Tributes", which includes Rhue, Katniss' friend and essentially little sister who dies during the first film. She talks lovingly about Rhue, and how sad she was that she couldn't save her. The speech causes an elderly man to raise three fingers in the air, which promptly causes guards to drag him to the captial steps and get shot in the head. Katniss is appalled and pretty much freaks out. Haymitch, her "mentor" decides to then tell her to follow the rules and not incite rioting. Slowly it becomes more and more apparent that an uprising is a possibility. They call for another Hunger Games for the 75th anniversary, but it's going to be special. Since President Snow wants Katniss dead and gone they drag back the other winners from the other districts from previous years to compete in a special quarterly event of death and awfulness. You meet the other contestants, who are now celebrities and members of the bougouise folk who live in the capital. You meet some of them, they train and get to know each other. The stakes are raised and it's a lot more interesting than the first Hunger Games you got to watch. I was a huge fan since I had no idea what to expect. It really becomes a full story with much more depth than the first film. It's much more than young love trying to stay alive. The addition of Philip Seymour Hoffman is an awesome addition as Gamemaster and the returning cast is still phenomenal. Bottom Line: 8.7 out of 10. If you haven't seen the first one, run out and buy it for $5, watch it, then go to the movie theatres and watch the new one. It's a very interesting story that has an excellent cast and crew with a lot of money behind them. I certainly am looking forward to the final act of this trilogy. P.S. Take a look at Francis Lawrence's directing credits and ask yourself how the fuck he got this job?

Snitch- More like Shit

I decided for some idiotic reason that Snitch was worth watching. The movie is suppposedly based on "real events" where The Rock's dipshit son agrees with his longtime friend to have a box of ecstacy shipped to his house to watch for awhile. He's immediately busted by the DEA and the penalty for housing a few pounds of drugs is a minimum of 10 years. His way out is to snitch on friend's or anyone else dealing a bunch of drugs, which he doesn't really have the capacity to do, since he doesn't know drug dealers, and he outright refuses to roll over on any of his friends who MIGHT be dumb enough to have a few pounds of drug shipped to them to watch. Enter THE ROCK, who RISKS IT ALL to save his son, who is clearly getting raped and beaten regularly in prison. Ol' Dwayne Johnson goes Batdad on it and enters the world of narcotics to get the DEA someone in exchange for his sons freedom. It's ridiculous, John Bernthal is in it, I like Barry Pepper as a crazy undercover agent, but the rest of this is awful. Ben Bratt, Michael Williams (OMAR!!!!!) & Susan Sarandon seem too good for this pile of shit, but I guess not. It's all shitty and unimpressive from top to bottom. It gets completely ridiculous as well with THE ROCK going Rambo even though he's a former truck driver and construction company owner. It's all just stupid and awful. Bottom Line: 2.1 out of 10. Nothing about this movie is really worth watching. Stay the fuck away from this one.

Tanking: Some Thoughts on Everyone Pitching in to Give Up for some Draft Picks

I'm morbidly curious with tanking this year in the NBA, and also strangely the NFL. My favorite NFL team, sadly, is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nobody wins in the NFL without an elite QB these days, and this draft, a little similar to the NBA draft (Getting there a little later) has a few with that sort of potential. I say potential because predicting NFL superstar QB's if one remembers is a very tricky business. The likes of Tim Couch, Akili Smith, JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, I could keep going but what's the fucking point, litter the likes of Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers, etc. Tom Brady was a 6th rounder, Russell Wilson a 3rd, Drew Brees an early 2nd, A-Rod was a very late first rounder, so who knows? I did like the opportunity to be the ones to make the mistake though with the first overall pick, in fact I was planning on it. Now, I have no idea. Marcus Mariota withdrew from the draft, Bridgewater has shown a few more cracks in his game than last year, and there isn't a true consensus franchise QB anymore. Will it really matter if they are 5th overall instead of 1st? What about round 2 and right down the line until round 7? That's certainly better than fighting hard, probably fighting showing great heart and nobility, only to miss the playoffs and draft later, is it? The NBA is actually still shameless about the practice. The Houston Rockets ruined it for future tankers by clearly mailing it in to get Hakeem (Then Akeem) Olajuwon with the first pick. Now there's a lottery, so tanking isn't supposed to be an issue, but it's a greater issue now more than ever. You need not just one, but two superstars to compete in this league, plus a slew of decent role players and big men to be in that upper echelon. Translation, the Bucks aren't even fucking close to being relevant. SO, jump aboard the RIGGIN' FOR WIGGINS sweepstakes and dump your higher priced veterans, clean up your cap, and pray you land one of these young stars and possibly another max deal star in free agency and that= Playoffs and long-term success. This is unquestionably shaping up to be one of the best drafts in NBA history as Wiggins, Randle, Parker, and Smart all seem like can't miss superstars in training and Exum in Austrailia apparently has the ability to hang, or exceed the aforementioned list. Is that the best, OR is it even the ONLY way for small time franchises in cities where superstars would loathe to live and play in (COUGH, MILWAUKEE, HACK, HACK, UTAH) to compete in the NBA? It's really sad that proud franchies like the Boston Celtics mortgage a playoff team, though certainly aging and EXTREMELY unlikely to win a title again this year, and mortgage it for money and draft picks to essentially hit the reset button like a pissed off young kid hitting reset on a Nintendo game after something doesn't go his way, though I never have done that and I'm not old enough to have either... There is absolutely no credit for playing hard to be mediocre. The NBA especially, where over half the league gets into the playoffs FYI, honor in trying to make the playoffs and give yourself "A Puncher's chance" or a "Chip and a chair" and attempt to make a run at a title. I feel the days of the Denver Nuggets over the Seattle Supersonics and the Golden State Warriors over the Dallas Mavericks (8 seeds over the 1 seeds) victories are almost certainly gone. Building a franchise over time with care, hard work, and developing talent seems dead. The Packers can certainly claim to do so (I'm also a Homer apparently), but the reality is without Aaron Rodgers were a fucking chum. I've always had an extremely negative view of tanking since I believe the first time I heard the term was in describing the worst ring of the bullseye in the "mental toughness" bullseye in a tennis video from the 80's during a rain day of tennis practice. It means you sulk, act like a bitch, and play like garbage. It's allowing people less talented to beat you. In the ultra competitive world of professional athletics isn't behavior like that utterly unacceptable? How can it be sanctioned, and essentially encouraged? How can GM be given the green light to destroy a team and throw out a bullshit product that nobody wants to see, including family and close friends of the players, just so you don't have to question the lack of effort of the players on the floor? I think it's not the ONLY way to go about assembling a championship team, but it's certainly the quickest and easiest. I guess .500 is the new .250 for winning percentage and that's all that matters. Parts of this are refreshing, like the days of overpaying for a player who simply isn't good enough for a max contract because they can't win a championship (HEY CARMELO ANTHONY) is going to be looked at under a microscope to a much greater extent. You can't afford to make mistakes like having a fringe star command $20 million/year for 6 years on your payroll. They better be a guy who wins games, or fills the seats. I just can't help be feel a little down about how openly tanking happens, but is discussed in the media, and the ultimate betrayal of an unnamed NBA GM writing an article in ESPN the magazine about it. It's almost glorified. As a fan you feel like it's a new tomorrow when you tank. Your most exciting moment of the season is watching ping-pong balls get drawn by a bunch of old white guys. Does that seem right? Somebody help me out with this one, I'm kind of lost on it.

Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club is the "heroic" tale of Ron Woodruff and his story of contracting HIV, but mainly his fight to heal himself, and in the process a lot of others. It takes place starting in 1985 when HIV was largely still thought of as "the gay plague", but also a death sentence. McConaughy plays Woodruff and dominates it. He's a tough cowboy/drunk/drug using redneck. It's a role he dropped to what had to be around 135 lbs to really own it. He is told he has HIV after a work accident that lands him in the hospital where his blood work comes back REALLY BAD. He is told he has 30 days to live and he utters the immortal "Ain't nothin' on earth that can kill Ron Woodruff in 30 days". What follows is his crusade to find treatments that work and obtaining them, often illegally, from other countries to stay alive. Around 30 minutes in Jared Leto comes into the picture and kills it as Rayon, a cross-dresser who becomes his partner despite their initial distrust & Woodruff's obvious distate for him. They start selling various vitamins, proteins, and experimental drugs to patients against doctor's and FDA orders to help HIV sufferers. Woodruff starts out as essentially a drug dealer, but becomes much more. It's excellent and features performances due for Oscar notice, especially McConaughy and Leto, but Jennifer Garner is also excellent. An amazing story that neither deifies nor condemns Woodruff and his efforts. Bottom Line: 8.9 out of 10. Just an excellent picture that does an amazing job with amazingly tough subject matter. Leto's movie career is back into star mode.

The Counselor

I watched The Counselor at the cheap seats last week because despite whatever it's rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I wanted to see it. The cast is excellent: Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, and Penelope Cruz. The story follows Fassbender, referred to as "Counselor" by everyone since he is a lawyer and public defendant. He wants to make more money getting into the aluring cartel drug game. Pitt is an old hand and wise man. Bardem is the money and flamboyant club owner/drug dealer. Diaz is Bardem's fling and Cruz is Fassbender's love and fiance. It tries to fill boredom with dialogue that they try to be shocking and unique with, and that's rather disappointing. It mvoes along alright, but it's not fast or exciting by any means. There is some shock and graphic things that are exciting, but it's essentially at this point stuff you see of AMC or FX. A few years ago I think this film would have done a lot better. Bottom Line: 6.6 out of 10. Worth seeing on your own time for limited money. Bardem and Fassbender as especially solid. Shout out to a random Rosie Perez role! Che speek ingleesh good and everything.

JFK: John Fitzgerald Kennedy for the Layman

In light of all the awesome 50th anniversary Kennedy shows I stopped and watched JFK: In His Words on HBO. I think it's very important for my younger generation to learn about JFK and why he was such a polarizing figure. We're all too familiar with his horrible and untimely end and all that accompanies it, but we are often lost in why he was so important. It's debatable if a anyone has been more charismatic and charming to come along in the Presidency since JFK. I enjoy his speeches and video clips GREATLY. The HBO documentary is fantastic giving you insight into his rise to political power. He was loved by youth and minorities, which I don't think gets mentioned enough. I think that's a large part of why he's still talked about today. I loved watching how he took down Nixon in the first majorly televised Presidential campaigns. The first widely televised debate where his youth, vitality, and flat out good looks destroyed Nixon to the public. His charisma and charm (overused I know) took over and ran the race for him. He was American royalty, something that just doesn't exist today. I wish the focus wasn't on his death, but on his life and what he championed and stood for. You can only wonder about what could have been if he survived another term, or if his brother Robert could have made it into the highest office. He was born into great wealth, but it never defined him, or even seemed to matter. He was a WWII hero for the Navy. He was at home with the common man wherever he went. There were great videos of him shaking hands and politicking in the streets of MA for his Congressional seat. I just really enjoyed this documentary of all of the old footage and speeches. He was at home wherever he was and it was refreshing and enjoying. He was a great figure in our history, but I feel like my generation doesn't understand why. He stood for youth, change, and progress. The greatest disappointment is knowing him only for his gruesome end and not all that he accomplished in a very short time on earth and in office.

Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas finally got added to HBO's lineup and I was pretty excited to see it. Cloud Atlas follows several stories all intertwined in various ways, normally a mole shaped like a comet and love/ dangerous situations. Halle Barry and Tom Hanks headline a strong cast and each play multiple characters. It's an interesting stretch and story that does a decent job of keeping it together and continuous. It hits a few boring parts during the over 2.5 hours, but the various alternating stories keep things interesting. Some you'll like more than others, but they are all interesting and united, which is a part of the intrigue. Once again I'm slightly biased to people at least TRYING something new and unique in Hollywood. Bottom Line: 6.4 out of 10. I'm a sucker for uplifting, life lessony movies. I'd certainly watch it for free on HBOGO, or whenever it hits Netflix, etc.

Movie 43: An Attempt at Comedy

Movie 43 is a tribute to Kentucky Fried Movie and other movies that are a collection of comical shorts thrown together for a shot a comedy spread out over 10 chanches at greatness. There's a backstory of a crazed man trying to pitch a movie (Dennis Quaid) to movie exec (Greg Kinnear) and it's his crazy shorts that compose Movie 43. It's very weird, and just LOADED with stars from top to bottom. Hugh Jackman, Hallie Berry, Kate Winslet, Kinnear, Quiad, Common, Stephen Merchant, Johnny Knoxville, Anna Farris, Emma Stone, Liev Schrieber & longtime girlfriend Naomi Watts, Common, and really I could go on, but what's the point? Some of them are hits, some of them are misses, but I certainly, bucking the trend, had a decent time watching the film. It starts out pretty strong with a front-end loaded skit of Winslet and Jackman that doesn't push it far enough with their gag, but it's a lot of fun. I really think they go for a lot, so it's hit & miss the entire way. I think you have to try it on for yourself. It's pretty much pure sophomoric and grotesque humor, so if you really don't like that sort of thing, don't give it the time of day. I do laugh at poop, fart, and dick jokes, so I found a few of these to be funny. Bottom Line: 5.9 out of 10. I wish I could go higher, but this really defies description besides a mash up of shorts based on something probably gross or taboo. I think it's certainly worth a viewing, especially since it's on Netflix and requires nothing besides 80 minutes to find out if it's for you, or not. I'm just glad someone took a chance on something unique. I'm sure the actors/actresses involved had a blast.

42: Jackie Robinson's Hollywood Blockbuster

I picked up 42 at a Family Video clearance for $4 and I think that's about right. The movie follows Robinson, but also Branch Rickey, the man most responsible for Robinson being on the Dodger's. Rickey is portrayed by Harrison Ford, who I'm a fan of and I feel did a very good job. He's neither deified nor condemned as essentially a businessman who did not see any other color that mattered besides green. I think the historical aspect is lost, but there is a decent movie here. The baseball scenes are decent, but a little CGI heavy. Chadwick Boseman is very good as Robinson. The cast is largely unknown, but solid. I think it does a pretty vanilla job of telling the story of Robinson's first year in the bigs. It can't focus TOO much on the hardships, or his family life, or Rickey's behind the scenes struggles, so it touches on all three and satisfies you on none of them, but provides so facts and educates a little bit on all fronts. Bottom Line: 6.4 out of 10. Fairly bland, but not exactly a kid's film. Does a respectable job of telling parts of Robinson's story, though as I said before, with too many irons in the fire you really only get a glimpse into the struggles of the men involved.

12 Years as a Slave: Gamechanger

I will put as high praise as I can on 12 Years as a Slave. It's everything that's great about movies. It tells a powerful story and emotionally throws you to the wolves. The story follows Soloman, a free black man living in Saratoga, NY with his family playing the violin for a living. He's approached by two white men to travel with them and perform, making $3/performance & $1/day travel. They proceed to get him to drink too much and sell him into slavery. The next hour and a half is a brutal, honest tale of slavery and abuse. The acting is all top notch with great performances across the board from talented actors playing in minor roles that are much smaller than what they are used to: Paul Dano, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, and Michael Williams (AKA OMAR the Stick Up Boy). The result is an amazing and powerful film that I feel like can only be compared to such an epic as Schindler's List in how strong it is. I was crying in a movie theatre for the first time in I can't remember when. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the role of a lifetime to perfection and an Oscar nomination and possible win is sure to follow. Fassbender will probably garner one for best supporting actor, I'd like to see Adepero Oduye get something for her portrayal as Eliza, a slave who has the grave misfortune of being her master's object of affection. There really isn't a weak link in the whole chain. It's just a phenomenal film that is one of the great ones. Bottom Line: 9.8 out of 10. It's just about a perfect movie, it's that simple. This is what I would refer to as a must-see movie for all adults.

Oldboy

I re-watched my favorite portions of the original Oldboy before the new one comes out. Oldboy is a pretty unique story where a (I think) Korean man is imprisoned by himself in essentially a one bedroom apartment without knowing why, or really anything about it, for 15 years. He's then dumped off in a suitcase in the middle of a field and his journey begins. He begins trying to figure out why he was imprisoned and who did it. THere's now some landmark moments, most notably the eating of raw squid that's still moving, and fighting through 20 dudes in a tiny hallway with nothing more than a hammer, and a few others I don't really want to print. The story twists and turns while you're largely kept in the dark as the main character attempts to piece together who did this to him. Just fantastic stuff, but truly twisted and bothersome. I'm mildly interested in the U.S. re-make, but I HIGHLY encourage seeing this one well before you stumple upon the U.S. remake. Bottom Line: 8.6 out of 10. It's strange reading subtitles the entire time as always, but I refuse to believe that this film will be improved upon when it's Americanized. The twists and turns and truly devious and awful. It's really a two hour struggle to get through this thing at times.

Promised Land

I took a flier on this film and I need to be honest that I biffed the first 15 minutes, so this isn't complete. I jumped in on Damon at a bar trying to befriend a small-town and I was engrossed from there. Damon plays essentially a salesman who is pushing "fracking", or the harvesting of natural gas, to a small, struggling town in... I'm not sure what state sadly. His campaign hits a snag when a retired engineer who teaches science at the local high school starts shining a light on some of the issues from fracking. Damon and Francis Mcdormond are forced into trying to sign up enough of the town-folk to win a vote. John Krasinski hops in as an environmentalist who is essentially the natural gas companies worst nightmare. He's the charming, charismatic, friendly, and passionate employee of Athena Environmental Group. He jumps into the fray and talks to everyone he can about his family farm in Nebraska that fracking ruined by killing off his families dairy cattle and ruining his families livelihood. They battle back & forth and exchange seeming victories and defeats to a building vote that everything depends on. There's a great twist and I feel it salvaged the movie since it was rather boring for most people. Bottom Line: 6.8 out of 10. I enjoyed the story and I think fracking is a VERY interesting issue for these small, poor towns. The question of mortgaging a shaky, struggling, toiling future for money and a possible, perhaps even probable environmental issue/issues stemming from the fracking that will ruin your land and way of life. HBO has some excellent documentaries on it that are worth watching if it's of interest to you. Watching people light their kitchen sinks and garden hoses on fire like Kennedy's Eternal flame is VERY fascinating and terrifying. Damon and Krasinski are both excellent and Mcdormond is rock solid as always. I'd rent/ watch this on HBO.

Mud

Matthew McConaughey is supposedly the star in this character-heavy drama focusing on the deep South and the struggles of poverty and love, but the much younger Tye Sheridan is in my opinion even more impressive. The film follows Sheridan's character Ellis and his best friend as they find a boat hanging in some trees after a flood. The boat is inhabited by McConaughey, who insists the boys call him Mud. The boys befriend him and fall into his story of love with a girl named Juniper, played by Reese Witherspoon, so you understand his desires. He tells a story of love spanning years, but eventually reveals that he's not just a swell guy trying to get his sweetheart back, but a wanted felon for a murder he admits to committing to the boys. They are undetoured in trying to assist Mud in getting the boat they found in a tree up and running because Mud needs it. The strength of the film lies in the acting, but the story is also fairly unique and interesting. There's some bumps and bruises along the way outside of the main plot that also add some spice, so I didn't find it to be boring, but I could understand if people complained. They drag you along and keep it interesting for a frenzied climax that twists and turns in ways I certainly didn't see coming. Bottom Line: 7.7 out of 10. I'm rating this perhaps a little harsher than I should, but it's really tough to put it ahead of Captain Phillips, so I feel like I'm unfairly punishing it. It's certainly worth a rental or a view on Netflix or some movie channel that it's almost certain to be on soon. I'm seeing Tye Sheridan as an up & comer if he keeps his nose clean and bulks up some in the upcoming years, because he can certainly act in my opinion. I bought the emotion, etc demanded from his character. Obviously Mconaughey is outstanding as well, but pretty much everyone shines. Losts of Boardwalk Empire alums for some reason, so that was interesting for me. Please let me know what you thought of this one because I feel like everything I put down someone could disagree with.

Captain Phillips

Tom Hanks is probably the best actor of "my generation", though he's probably too old for me to claim that one. I jumped on board to catch his latest work that was trending VERY well on Rotten Tomatoes at 95%. It's best to not know much about this story heading into it, since I thoroughly enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen during the pirate takeover. Hanks plays the ship captain of a freight ship transporting food stuffs and other boring items to war-torn African nations. Not sure if that's true at all, but it plays the sympathy cord. Hanks' ship is overtaken by 4 poorly clothed, but decently armed with AK-47's and a few pistols, Somali pirates. Hanks is shown as a hero who constantly tries to protect his crew and get the pirates off his ship. Though this may not be true in the real story (from the little I have heard since the crew is suing the studio who made this) it gives Hanks more screen time, which is all that matters. I don't want to tell too much, but there's some struggles and interesting moments along the way leading to a 30 minute slow-building climax. Keep yourself in the dark about the real story and enjoy this very well done film. Bottom Line; 7.9 out of 10. I really enjoyed the movie and it is very well done. From the Somali pirates, to the crew, to the equipment & military members, it's all just very well done. Rock solid throughout, so it's probably worth $10 bucks to see in the cinemas to enjoy it because it's rather impressive on the big screen. The ocean scenes are very well done.

Gravity- IMAX Cinematography Porn

I indulged in Gravity, but only in 3D and not in IMAX. The story follows Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and another guy in space on a mission to repair the Hubble telescope. Bullock is a doctor, Clooney a career astronaut, and the Indian dude is some kind of doctor I think from Harvard. They are making repairs in space when debris from a satellite come firing at them at an incredible rate of speed and start to ruin their day. In 3D the space scenes were all very impressive and there was the feeling that the actors were legitimately in space, so it's a very impressive feat. The story is mainly Bullock's to carry, but Clooney is also phenomenal. The real star is the cinematography and camera work throughout, but it's an interesting story that goes from pretty ho-hum and boring to panicked moments of craziness instantly. I'm going to recommend it, but it's probably worth the extra dollars to watch in IMAX, as it was intended. Bottom Line: 8.2 out of 10. Impressive technology and camera work. Good acting and storytelling also pair nicely. At the end of the day it's a pretty stripped down film, but it'll keep you involved for 1.5 hours, that's a fact Jack (I need to find my own catch phrase I just decided, help is accepted).

Wreck It Ralph: The Beauty of Kid's Movies

I DVR'd Wreck It Ralph off of Starz and was super glad I did. It was everything to love about a child's movie. The premise is Wreck It Ralph after 30 years of being "the bad guy" of Fix it Felix Jr. he is done being bad and unloved. He starts to explore other games to try to win a medal and that will get him the love and respect of everyone in his game. He embarks on a crazy adventure and the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, and Jane Lynch make it a ton of fun. It's a great lesson of giving everyone a chance and that everyone is good at something. I was just a huge sap and teary-eyed for a lot of the great moments ofteaching and sappiness. It's just a must-see for kids and adults alike in my mind. I was just all about it for some reason. Bottom Line: 8.8 out of 10. I was just an enormous fan. It was cute, cuddly, and sappy, but just so endearing. I didn't delete it off the DVR. I'll be having nieces and nephews watch it after I buy like 4 of them as Christmas gifts. It was a joy for me.

Homeland Season 3: What is Going On? Other Stuff TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been attempting to get familiar with some of the new shows and attempts to keep other shows fresh and exciting. I'm going to give my two cents on a few things and will cover Homeland and The City of Life and Death in more detail. New Shows: Mom on CBS with Anna Faris has been entertaining thus far. It's another Chuck Lorre show that's been pretty solid. Anna Faris is a very young mother of two who has her own teenage daughter who is also now pregnant. Faris' mother had her when she was a teen as well and now she's back in the picture. It's a really solid set of characters with the exception of the teenage daughter, who I am fairly saddened by her efforts. Faris is excellent, Badger from Breaking Bad has a limited but hilarious role as Faris' second child's father. The grandmother played by Allison Janney is very solid as well. I recommend checking it out. Hello Ladies- A solid effort from HBO following the comical dating stories and life of a tall, goofy-looking Englishman played by Stephen Merchant. You'll notice some other characters, but they aren't famous by any stretch. The strength is in Merchant and his character, who is just plain funny. He's got some good one liners, but he's just funny enough to carry it. He tries way too hard, gets walked all over, and deals with it in hilarious ways. I haven't watched any other shows like the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Robin Williams/ Sarah Michelle Geller's new show. The City of Life and Death follows a gruesome historical tale often referred to as "The Rape of Nanking". In 1937 on the eve of World War II the Japanese took over China. The capital city was then Nanking and the horrors are numerous. This movie depicts the fall of the city and some of the more brutal aspects of the takeover. It's shot in beautiful black and white and parallels Schindler's List in that respect. It's the same awful feeling where you essentially feel like everyone is going to die and their lives are as expendable as ants. There are numerous rapes and horrors that are depicted throughout including a moment where at a church run by a German, who has favor since Japan was still trying to be friendly with Hitler, the Japanese commander instructs everyone there that they will be taking 100 women to the front lines to please the Japanese troops. Your heart drops as a few women volunteer to be sex slaves, a life as brutal as any imaginable. It's a Japanese and subtitled, but the story, acting, and cinematography are top notch. It's very heartbreaking and tough, but like Schindler's List it has a realism and feel that's unmatched in most film. Bottom Line: 7.8 out of 10. It's brutal, so I can't recommend it unless you enjoyed Schindler's List and can stomach it. Homeland Season 3: It's been pretty awful watching Homeland this season. Claire Danes' "Carrie", the smartest women in the room, can't seem to pull her shit together enough to not seem completely bat-shit crazy all the time. She's compulsive and essentially stupid this season and it's bothering the shit out of me. Her psychiatric condition is being used as a huge plot point and it's brutal. She pulled it together all of Season 2 and most of Season 1, but NOW since she's off her medication she blows up in public and constantly fucks up. Why can't she hold ANYTHING together? The lack of Damien Lewis (Brody) and his replacement with his family is also painful. His daughter is not a main character and her essentially taking on a leading role is bullshit. I don't give a fuck what happens to her and the fact she's getting a lot of screen time is fucking the show up in my opinion. Thank God the gold standard of Mandy Patinkin is still killing it as Saul and his moments are the best. It better get it's shit together soon so I can continue to actually want to watch it and not feel like I owe it to the show for it's previous efforts. It's consistently comes to my attention that Claire Danes constantly just throws her "lost puppy dog eyes" look, as I call it, all the time and it passes as excellent acting. I'm not sure it isn't, but seriously, she throws the same look at the camera 50% of the time. Save me Damian Lewis, save me.

House of Cards

House of Cards is a political docudrama-ish show that is loaded with familiar faces including Robin Wright (formerly Robin Penn-Wright, AKA married to Sean Penn), Kevin Spacey, Michael Kelley and Kate Mara. The story essentially follows Kevin Spacey's character, a veteran senator, who pulls great power plays to gain favor and whatever he wants. He plays everyone including a hot newswoman (Kate Mara) and is thoroughly enjoyable throughout. He nails a southern accent and is just truly engaging. The plot is greatly varied and there are enough interesting characters and developments to make you feel like our government is engaging. It's available on THE, getting more impressive every day, Netflix. It's just another reason to jump on board besides the numerous great shows and some very good movies displayed proudly for your streaming at all times. Pairing this with Orange is the New Black and I'm actually very interested in Netflix's own shows that compare with anything else on TV very favorably. I do want to see "Top of the Lake" on, I think, the Sundance Channel or IFC, I'm not sure which. That's been elusive so far and garnered some Emmy interest, despite having Peggy from Mad Men as a lead character... I really can't remember the last movie I saw in theaters, but I plan on seeing a few coming up since it's $5 movies and free popcorn at Marcus Point Cinema now through Oct. 31st. GIDDY UP.

Sportscentury: Throwback Day

I started recording Sportscentury as a HUGE fan since the series began. It honored the legends of our past and present. I started my quest by watching the specials on Chuck Bednarik and Charlton Fisk and I will construct my thoughts for you. Bendarik was the ultimate throwback in an era where throwbacks stlil existed. As a 34 & 35 year old man he played center and linebacker, a feat reserved for amazing high school athletes, not professionals. He made $17,000 playing both ways in an effort that lacks proper title. Calling him a 60 minute man is still insulting to him. He grew up tougher than the steel created in his hometown of Bethlehem, PA. He was terrifying for teammates and opponents alike. He hit a pinnacle by almost killing Frank Gifford in perhaps the most violent hit ever in any sport. His children mentioned they lived their entire lives without their father telling them to their faces that he loved them. The ultimate throwback to the spartan "300" days. He played linebacker and center and essentially willed an essentially average team to the 1960 championship over the excellent Packers team. There was a story where he fought with Chuck Noll during the game and let him know where'd he'd be after the game. He uppercutted Noll and sent his helmet flying in the air and when the Browns came out to fight and defend Noll "Concrete Chuck" just looked at them and said "Don't cross that line", and not a single Brown questioned it. He was the toughest man to ever play the game and it was refreshing to hear the tales about it. A real treat learning about this warrior and pillar of the game. His disgust for what the game became after his retirement was refreshing. He was the ultimate throwback and forever will be. He was a waist gunner in WWII where your life is measure in minutes and his reflection on how that made him the man he was was amazing. It cemented his resolve as a man of God, and a football player in ways that nobody can understand unless you were there with him in the great war. Fisk was similar. A New Hampshire kid who played a year in college before running his course through the Red Sox system. His amazing 24 year run as a catcher is simply unmatched by anyone else. His role in the '75 World Series where he is deified waving the ball fair was just a pit stop in an amazing career. He ran pitching staffs for so long the pitchers became younger than his children. His iron will and toughness is something all players should try to mimic forever. It was so refreshing to see someone play the game the right way. There was a section on him yelling at Deion Sanders for not running out a fly ball. There was just great pieces about his mutual disgust and respect for Thurman Munson and how news of Munson's death was one of the low points in his career & life. Fisk is greatly underappreciated in baseball and Boston, which is so rare. His feats are so amazing and unrecognized that it was almost painful. Look at his career and see if any catcher matches up. It's not even close. His longevity is unmatched by anyone in the modern era. Reggie White was also highlighted in an amazing way. Reggie White was a man of God first, and a football player second. His departure from Philadelphia to Green Bay was a great story about his fight to what God wanted, and what Reggie as a family man and football player wanted. He was amazing at Tennessee, the USFL, and later the NFL. He used the NFL to cater to his desire to use it as a ministry for God. He revolutionized God in the NFL, and the defensive line position. His swim move was second to nothing the league has ever seen. He had 21 sacks in 12 games, a feat that will probably never be equaled. Men would follow him anywhere, including the frozen tundra of Green Bay. He brought a Super Bowl and way of life to Green Bay that's still being followed. White's leadership and aura will never be equaled. White could have rested on his laurels and became whatever he wanted in WI, but his faith led him to a different path. He was VERY outspoken about his beliefs and it led many men to faith in the NFL, but later became a distraction. His ministry was a blessing and a curse. He disowned homosexuality because it cannot be compared to being African-American. His faith led him to ignorance, but you hope that isn't his legacy. His faith and effort was what should be remembered. His message was to bring people together, not create rifts in our social fabric. He helped everyone he could in ways that you just wish other athletes would follow. Reggie gave so much of himself it was painful to see his family talk about it. His money was thrown away and his charisma for God completely misused. His faith is an inspiration to everyone who believes in a God of any kind. His lasting impact is the prayer huddles seen on the field to this day, and the horrible pain shown in his teammates speaking of his passing. The tears flow instantly when talking about his passing at an age that was WAY too young. Andre Agassi- I am completely biased for Agassi. He was the original baseliner who won the first Wimbledon for his style in 1991 vs. the greatest serve and volley players of all-time in Boris Becker, John McEnroe and Goran Ivanosevic during the same run. Agassi broke in as a 16 year-old using pure talent and flair, and left as a 36 year-old of pure substance. Nobody in any sport had an equivalent transformation. His book is an amazing read. He is a philosopher and scholar despite never completing high school. He used his money and will to create his own AMAZING academy in Las Vegas to help underprivileged youth to create a better life for themselves. If all athletes took the route of Agassi in their communities, the world would be just an amazing place. It's really an inspiration to see where his life after tennis has taken him. He's wise beyond his years and a true warrior poet/scholar despite his lack of formal education. Agassi is remarkably one of a kind and simply an amazing person. His career achievements on the court, despite being amazing and essentially unmatched, pale to his work outside of tennis. His impact on Las Vegas is what's truly amazing. You can only hope others can take his lead in becoming such an amazing part of their communities. It's an amazing inspiration. The question of who is alive that I'd like to have dinner with is simply answered with "Andre Agassi". I am truly amazed by his ability to reflect and offer insight on life and making it better for yourself and others. Just a real inspiration. I love Sportscentury and its celebrations of great players past & present for not only their contributions to their sports, but to the rest of people's lives. Just an amazing and unmatched series. Sorry for the ramblings, I just love the work done to preserve the heroes of eras past.

Jack Nicholson: Quick Tribute

Apparently Jack Nicholson, not the golfer, but the actor, has retired from his lifetime career. My first experience was Jack as the Joker, a role he completely dominated like nobody before or after. I slowly started in on some of his earlier career as I got older like Easy Rider, The Shining, Chinatown, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and A Few Good Men. He put together his best work before I was even in school. He DID make an amazing return in the Departed that was an excellent exclamation point to his amazing career. He and Michael Caine are the only actors to have Oscar nods in every decade since 1960, quite an accomplishment for both gentlemen. He ends with 3 Oscars and 12 nominations. He resisted De Niro's recent binge to collect as many pay-days as possible, I feel Pacino is in that mode too, before your time is up. If you haven't taken a look at his earlier work, you're missing out on excellent stuff. He was similar to Bogart in his utter domination and machismo. He isn't playing sensitive, caring types, and it's fucking awesome. He's incredibly intense and filled with a great "Not give a fuck" attitude that is believable because you wouldn't mess with him. Do yourself a favor and grab some of these older films mentioned and get on board. Find out what you're missing. Hats off Jack. I sincerely hope that it isn't for memory loss, which is the early favorite. His persona is now relegated to Lakers games, but it's still very welcome just to see him and his amazingly expressive face and brow.

Tennis Talk

I've been watching some U.S. Open tennis and it's been pretty good. Tim Smyczek of Brookfield made it just as far as any other American male tennis player, the THIRD ROUND, which is disconcerting. http://espn.go.com/tennis/usopen13/story/_/id/9625887/us-open-last-us-hope-tim-smyczek-comes-short is a shitty article about it highlighting the lack of knowledge in Smyczek, but reminding us that since 1881 there's always been an American man into the fourth round. He pushed Marcel Granollers from Spain to 5 sets before losing. He wins that match, he'd be HUGE news and have an even better pay day. The lack of quality U.S. players has been on the horizon for awhile though and the recent batch of tennis players fall well short, especially in having something between their ears to make them play the game at a high level. We've had a rough run of of luck too, but it's certainly been a bad few years. Andy Roddick gets shit on, but he has been by far the best thing we've had through the 00's besides my personal heroes the Bryan Brothers. They are a huge bright spot that gets buried by playing in the obscure world of men's doubles. They are playing in a pretty slow run for competition, but they have been kicking the shit out of everyone as 35 year olds. I thoroughly enjoy watching them play more than anyone else on the tour. I wonder if they've surpassed Anna Kournikova as my favorite players ever... Nope, they haven't. I really wanted to simply write a blog complaining about another major where Federer uses his post-match loss to lament about not playing his best tennis, BUT NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM ------- that I played that day. Same shit, different tournament. I want Robredo to say that he didn't play well, but it was good enough to win. That would be fucking awesome. It's the same shit Tiger Woods always lays out and for the last 15 years I always wondered why I hated both of these players, but for Woods the shameless whore banging was the watershed moment. Federer's hasn't been the same, but his arrogance has been the ongoing thorn for me, and in his twilight years he's never been more smug and shitty. On the flip side it's nice to see Robredo back playing excellent tennis. He's very graceful off both wings and fun to watch for me. James Blake said goodbye, and that was truly sad. He had an excellent autobiography I read detailing his life, but spending a lot of time on some incredibly unique struggles that he overcame, but I think clearly hindered his career and derailed it from perhaps a higher ceiling than #4 in the world. He had amazing physical tools, especially his foot speed. He packed a ton of power into his forehand, his backhand was often a struggle, but occasionally he'd just destroy a return down the line with it that was a thing of pure beauty. His match against Agassi in the U.S. Open semifinal was one of the best I've ever seen. It was just a slugfest between two players hell bent on not giving up real estate on the baseline to each other. Blake kept the same coach he had since childhood, a move I can't agree with. It was admirable, but I think it kept him from reaching another level that you'd catch glimpses of. His struggles were the death of his father, followed by a near paralysis inducing collision while practicing on clay, AND shingles that paralyzed half of his face and made life generally miserable for him for a few years. He amazingly came back from all that, but really couldn't keep healthy, or consistent enough to stick around that upper echelon I felt like he belonged in. He'll be on TV commentating whenever he wants to moving forward. He played at Harvard for a year before going pro and he's VERY smart and an elegant speaker. I wish him the best as he rides into the sunset with a wife and daughter that he can't wait to spend more time with. Things to keep an eye on- 3 Spanish men in the quaterfinals with Granollers awaiting Djokovic in the round of 16. Very impressive run for them. Also I enjoyed Jack Sock for a very little bit, but he plays like a fucking idiot too often to be very good. Great tools, but he needs somebody to pound into his head how to use those tools to win matches. Athletic, good serve, solid off both wings but doesn't dictate the point with either. I watched him hit clean winners out of nowhere, and that is very exciting, but similar to Blake you just see a complete lack of how to set-up a point. Film on mid-late 90's Agassi should be mandatory for all up & comers to see how to just grind people into the ground. They obviously won't have the fitness of that Agassi, but something needs to give and soon because John Isner isn't the guy to carry our flag in the world of major tennis. The U.S. women performed pretty well, but I want to underline the fact that if Serena Williams was not around we'd look similarly as shitty on the women's side as the men's side. Sloane Stephens wears the crown of really talented, but does not know how to use those considerable talent to win matches. Agassi, when he was struggling to re-invent himself, played in challenger matches, which is essentially the minor leagues of tennis, to remind himself how to win. I'm not sure what the real answer is obviously, but I just want to see some promising moments that make me believe we will have a presence in the near future in international tennis.

Killer Elite

I seriously don't know why De Niro has decided to take every role his agent brings through the door. This film apparently was about a true story from the 80's where Britain was involved in a war in Oman that killed some of a rich oil "Shieks", though I'm not sure that's the proper word, sons in a less than honorable way. Statham plays a mercenary, shocking I know, who is hired to kill the men responsible for the Sheik's sons deaths. They first kidnap De Niro because Statham, really STRETCHING his acting chops, stopped being a mercenary after killing an El Salvadorian (apparently that's the correct terminology) man in front of his young son. De Niro is held captive and Statham gets to work killing people with a couple of random dudes that apparently are all better at killing people than the British SAS (Special forces) whom one of the fuck clowns with Statham said makes the Navy Seals look like some derogatory term that I forgot. Anyway Clive Owen is former SAS and charged with doing some dirt for the rich, older SAS members whom are now in a club and have power as bankers called the "Feather Touch" or something like that. I care too little to dig deeper and find out for sure. Owen tries to stop Statham and Co, they try to kill his former colleagues. I was a little pissed off because for a movie set in the 80's they probably shouldn't be driving 90's era cars, or having night vision goggles and tiny cameras that look like they run on fiber optic cable. I also can't fathom how they throw in a random woman that Statham is in love with and she loves him too apparently. It gets in the way and is ridiculous. Anyway there's some twists and turns, but overall it's pretty ridiculous and a little boring. Bottom Line: 5.2 out of 10. It's free on Netflix, but I'm sure you can do better. Surprisingly good cast, but just not workable material. Script and everything else seemed rushed and shitty. Munich was better is an easy way to think about it. Sad they drug De Niro & Clive Owen into this piece of shit.

Sleepers- Underrated

I read Sleepers on the recommendation of my friend in middle school, Dan Shelton. It's the autobiographical tale of Lorenzo Carcaterra, and it's painful and amazing (Side note: His book A Safe Place is of similar quality). I don't want to reveal a lot of the plot but it's a tale of best friends from a neighborhood in New York who get into some serious trouble and get thrown in juvenile hall. Most of the story stems from their horrific abuses at the facility and the lasting effects on the four, and their road to rectification and redemption. The movie is very good with some very good acting from a lot of well known actors including: Minnie Driver, Jason Patric, Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Brad Renfro, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Billy Crudup, and Ron Eldard. You'll recognize a lot of people in the film even if you don't know the actors by name, like Eldard who played Colt, Boyd Crowder's right-hand in Justified this season. All I can say is that the less you know about the story, the better it will be for you. Carcaterra's tales are just brutal in ways that you hope and pray it isn't true autobiographical detail he's rehashing. Bottom Line: 8.9 out of 10. Having read the book I've always been an enormous fan. The cast is amazing and the story is excellent. If you haven't seen this movie it is unquestionably worth a rental. It's far from a comedy or date movie, but it's rock solid & excellent. Reading the book is also highly recommended.

The '99ers

I watched the Nine for Nine, or whatever ESPN's tribute to Title IX is called. It was a celebration of the 1999 Women's USA world cup team. Mia Hamm being the star, but you see Julie Fowdy, Brandi Chastain, Michelle Akers, & Brianna Scurry and recognize them still. It was a HUGE moment and I watched that last game from near the end of regulation throughout the shootout and was captivated. They were a phenomenon and I still love the Nike commercial where Fowdy comes out of the dentist office and says she got two fillings and Mia Hamm springs up and deadpans "Then I will have two fillings." and everyone joins suit simply saying at the end "We will face the world together". It brought me back to a few special teams that I was on in 2001 & 2003 when we won state in tennis. Both experiences were very unique from each other. One I was a sophomore playing #3 doubles and it was my first time on a varsity team period. By 2003 I was a senior playing #1 doubles and the vocal/emotional leader of the team. Experiencing winning always brings a team closer and winning a championship really binds you together. The struggles and hard work pays off, which is so rare in sports. Everyone feels the vindication and it really brings everyone together. If you don't win, I don't think it's possible to have the same feeling of togetherness. If that team loses the shootout to N. Korea things would have been completely different I feel. Losing is destructive by nature and no matter what there's hard feelings in losing. Failing to win automatically breaks things apart. Feelings of blame, etc naturally follow losses and it sabotages the togetherness. It's unspoken, but normally crippling to unity. It sounds obvious, but without the championship there's no way to have the same feelings of joy/accomplishment & unity I feel. It was just a nostalgic journey for me that made me think of those rare instances where you win at the end of the season. There's no "what-ifs" or questions. I remember watching the pain after my brother's teams in basketball took back-to-back loses in the state championship game. The team was very close, but I can imagine things being totally different if they won either of those years. I'm babbling, but I think I enjoyed the documentary seeing their home videos thinking of the bus/van rides & similar moments on a much smaller scale. It was nostalgic and almost heartwarming in a way. Sorry to waste everyone's time on this one. More movies to follow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll dive into some Breaking Bad talk or some talk of the old favorites coming back this fall.

Ray Donovan

Liev Schrieber has always been rock solid and significantly underrated in my opinion. He's awesome in a side job as HBO Sports' main narrator. The guy just seems tough as shit, but also excels in comedy. I'm a fan. Anywhoo he's in a new series on Showtime called Ray Donovan where he plays a big-shot lawyer's "cleaner". He fixes strange problems. He's believable in the role to the point it's a little scary. You don't doubt he's beaten the shit out of someone with a wooden bat before. He is married with two kids and living in Beverly Hills, or something very similar. He's from Boston and him and his wife carry a hint of that fucking awesome Southy accent. He has some weird shit going on with his father, played by Jon Voight. He put his own father away 20 years ago on a murder conviction. It's deeper as Ray has always hated his father for cheating on his mother and contributing to his sister's suicide, but you don't know much about either. His dad's released and an FBI agent keeps tabs on him and tries to get him to flip. All the while Ray juggles family life with his crazy job AND this weird shit with his dad swirling in the background. You never know if Voight truly wants a real relationship with his grandkids, or if he's just pissing Ray off in various ways. The acting is phenomenal and besides a creepy YOUNG teenage relationship that honestly makes me uncomfortable to watch, it's been excellent. I seriously hope I didn't already write about this, but it wouldn't surprise me. Bottom Line: 9.0 out of 10. I've been a big fan of this one and sincerely think you should start watching this shit ASAP. Schreiber is going to get some well-deserved praise for this one and hopefully more starring roles in some big movies.

That's My Boy- AKA The Piece of Shit from Samburg & Sandler

I DVR'd this lump of shit hoping for some form of cheap laughs. There are so few to be found it's just pathetic. They try cheap shock tactics and stupid shit constantly. I found myself attempting to read various ESPN articles and online stuff rather than attempt to focus on the shit on the TV. There aren't highlights to speak of. Nothing really stands out as decent. The parting shot at the end to get shock laughs is just painful and stupid beyond belief. Really I'm thinking the "highlight" is the cameos of Robb Van Winkle, AKA Vanilla Ice. That honestly is probably the only thing that made me not angry while watching this. Sandler is the worst of the shit. He's just awful as a dipshit, drunk, fuckface. His accent is fucking awful. His character is so painfully stupid and un-entertaining you want him to be murdered by everyone else. Bottom Line: 2.2 out of 10. It's hard to imagine a worse major motion picture to watch for an hour & a half. Don't ever watch this, ever.

Two Guns (Sorry Chutch)

I checked out Two Guns based on the fact it had Denzel and Mahk Wahlbahg in it. It was just SOOOO pithy and ridiculous with the dialogue between Mahky-Mahk and Denzel. Wahlberg is just unbearably stupid and annoying for the most part. It does flirt with some decent action scenes and has some interesting plot moments, but it really isn't the crazy, fast-paced action film it promised to be. It sadly is in love with the exchanges of Wahlberg and Denzel and it's barely stomachable. The plot is that two agents, one undercover for the DEA and the other for the Navy somehow find each other completely separate from the fact they are undercover. If that's not implausible enough nobody at their respective departments know what the fuck is going on either. In any case they visit a Mexican drug lord trying to swap passports for cocaine, this fails, they then decide to get back at him by robbing the bank he stores his money at. It twists and turns all over the place and you try to keep tabs on the double-crosses and various characters, but you end up not caring and just wishing death upon everyone. Bottom Line: 5.4 out of 10. Really struggles to be entertaining, funny, or action-packed. Just barely serviceable and certainly not worth paying any amount of money for. Even the great Denzel couldn't salvage this lump of shit.

Elysium

I shelled out $10 in IA to see Elysium in IMAX, which I tend to forget how fucking awesome IMAX is, so it was nice. ANYways Elysium is the story of a young poor kid named Max (Matt Damon!!!!) who dreams of a floating wonder-world for the rich called Elysium. In the ridiculous category all disease and essentially everything has been cured. SO, if you live there you stay perfect and never die. Somehow you don't run out of money or anything, which seems strange because Elysium seems to have no industry or anything besides beautiful homes and lawns. Robots are your servants and protectors and the evil people of the poor, dumpster-like shit palace Earth cannot reach you. People from Earth try to get there, but are either destroyed at the command of the creepy Jodie Foster (who sometimes tries to carry some form of shitty accent, sometimes not, but in either case has MASSIVE calves, which is scary), or are immediately apprehended by robots and sent back. Max is a career criminal who is finally doing the 9-5 thing working in a factory making the robots that police Elysium. There's a foolish & time consuming love story dating back to when he was a kid and promised the new girl, Freye (I think), that he would get them to Elysium one day. He mouths off to robots and gets his arm broken. For some dipshit reason he has to get it cast like a regular schmuck at a hospital where he meets Freye again. She promises to get coffee, but also says her life is complicated. Damon goes back to work, eats a Hiroshima ground-zero sized dose of radiation and is given 5 days to live. He goes on a crazy mission to get to Elysium by working with local gangster/hacker Spider. He has one friend, (Side note: I'm happy Diego Luna to get an OK role in a big motion picture, it's not Spider, but it's a decent one as Damon's best/only friend.) who attempts to help him and that's when shit gets crazy and Willus from District 9 (Sharlto Copley) bulks up huge and plays a crazy Eastern European-ish psychopath who is Jodie Foster's dude who does dirt. It's a pretty standard Summer blockbuster, but there's less action than you'd think. Bottom Line: 7.3 out of 10. Pretty good acting, but less action than I expected. Love story got in the way, though I'm a cynical asshole, so I should preface that. Probably not worth paying $10 to see in theaters, but worth seeing at some point at a cheaper price.

Life of PI

I watched Life of PI last week due to a recommendation from my cousin and some interest in the cinematography and a unique story. The story is actual the story of a story being told. In present time a writer is meeting with an Indian-Canadian professor. His tale encompasses his journey from the East to America. The journey talks about his youth with his family running a zoo. Their journey on an boat to America that pulls a Titanic and leaves the main character as a boy stranded on a life boat with minimal supplies, and a few various zoo animals. Presumably Noah had a better time on the arc. It's an interesting story, but a little childish and ridiculous. There's some cool cinematography, though surprisingly the CGI isn't mind-blowing. Bottom Line: 6.6 out 10. Interesting and pretty unique, but nothing mind-blowing. Certainly worth a rental at some point, or I'm sure it will be available on a movie channel or Netflix SOON.

Side Effects

I went on a movie purchasing binge at the local Family Video and walked away with Side Effects, Killing Them Softly, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Jackass 3, and Argo for $56, most of them on blu-ray. I'm very happy currently on the purchases, especially because I never saw Side Effects, Life of Pi, or Killing Them Softly. I started my movie watching experience with Side Effects because I've wanted to see it since it came out on the recommendation of a friend, a recommendation I highly regard. Side Effects is filled with star power with Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones Douglas, and Channing Tatum to name the cream of the crop. Steven Soderbergh directs on top of that, I'm definitely in. The story follows Mara as the wife of Channing Tatum, a disgraced hedge-fund (stock dealer) who is in the clink for 4 years on insider trading. Mara is waiting for him to be released to resume their life, but she's picked up depression in the meantime, mainly because she miscarried right before he went to prison. Tatum is released, Mara crashes her car into a wall and depression is flaring up BIG TIME. Law is her therapist (anal-rapist for all you Arrested Development fans) who is now in charge of trying to fix her through therapy sessions and medication. I can't really talk too much about it, but shockingly the medications have undesired side effects and things get bad in a hurry. I don't really want to talk about the story besides that, just know that it's absolutely worth watching. BOTTOM LINE: 8.7 out of 10. Excellent story, lots of solid acting and I'm a huge fan of Soderbergh's style of intense close-ups and drama. Some unexpected twists and turns and it's really good stuff that keeps you unsure and uneasy throughout. Worth the rental for sure, or if it's a good deal, buy on the spot.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

I took a shot at some rom-com stuff I generally dislike. Steve Carrell and Keira Knightly carry this strange, dark rom-com about the what would happen at the impending doom of an asteroid 70-miles wide hitting Earth, killing everything. Carrell's wife jumps out of his car upon the news and is never to be seen again. Carrell starts piecing his life together and trying to figure out what what to do. His neighbor (Knightly) is crying outside and is welcomed into Carrell's apartment with the promise "I won't steal anything if you don't rape me". She falls asleep after smoking some weed and that's presumably the end of it. Carrell then finds her to get out of town before an impending riot kills them both. They get out of town and her adventure to find her parents and Carrell's adventure to find his high school sweetheart & "love of his life" begins. Interesting cameos and some funny/dramatic stuff happens. I won't ruin it, but it has some decent moments and it's well acted/done. The cameos are the strength, especially Rob Cordroy (standard). Bottom Line: 6.1 out of 10. Kind of boring (to be expected in a rom-com)and it gets a little long in the tooth, but there is some fun and endearing parts. Seriously, the cameos are pretty cool. I'd take a flier since it's free on a movie channel currently.

MEGA REVIEW since I only do one post per month now...

The Purge- I saw the Purge thinking a movie about killing people can never be bad. As you can assume, it was a play on society and the value of all human life, even if you're black and poor. Ethan Hawke is a rich dude who got rich selling home security systems protecting rich people during the 12-hour Government sponsored Sodom and Gomorrah shitshow known as the Purge. You can do whatever you want for 12 hours. Rape, murder, littering, it's all gravy. During the Purge in the movie, surprisingly things go badly. I'm going to start ruining this shit now, so SPOILER ALERT if you care about not being surprised. Hawke's daughter is supposed to be 15 dating an old guy who is supposed to be 18, but the actor is 38 or so. He leaves before the Purge only to someone "sneak" back into the house because he wants to talk to her Dad (Hawke) to explain their love on the only night where he can be brutally murdered for wanting to de-flower his minor daughter. Brilliant idea, I know, and the movie is loaded with them. The house is in full "lock down" where plate steel slides over the doors and windows making it look like a prison for Hannibal Lector types. His jackass creepy son who likes to hide in the closet and drive around a doll that's a camera on a remote control car chassis. It's nothing but weird and fucking dumb. ANYWHO he hears a guy yelling in the street for help since he's poor and about to be murdered by any number of people looking for a homeless, unarmed man to murder during THE PURGE. His dipshit son lets him into the house because life is precious and that kids a dipshit. Homeless, wounded, athletic, strong, black dude is now in the house. Hawke obviously isn't a huge fan and before anything can happen the daughter's boyfriend tries to shoot Hawke, which is always a mistake because Jake Hoight is not to be fucked with. He shoots the kid, wounded homeless guy runs away and all hell breaks loose. After awhile rich, preppy white kids knock on the giant plate steel door with an ultimatum to let them murder the homeless guy to soothe their homicidal madness that gets unleashed once a year so everyone is happy the other 364.5 days of the year, or his family will also be slaughtered. They can't find him, the kids tear off the plate steel like it's fucking tin foil and madness ensues. There's some cool stuff and then the movie takes a few twists and ends. Bottom line: 6.1 out of 10. That's higher than it should be, but I did enjoy some of the film. I hate stupid shit in horror movies like his candy-ass son endangering everyone letting the crazy looking wounded homeless guy in, OR the daughter's boyfriend who thinks he's Jason Bourne all the fuck sudden. Hawke's excellent, everyone else is serviceable but unspectacular. His kids are very unspectacular, but it holds your attention for the 80 minutes it runs. Go rent it when you're bored, it's worth it for cheap thrills. WOLRD WAR Z: I took a flier on some Summer fun about the world going crazy. World War Z combines zombie and viral horror and has Brad Pitt, who is really good at acting. He carries the film as a former UN investigator who wants to be super dad, but his friends in the UN won't let the impending apocalypse just happen without getting him involved. He has a family that's also shuttled with him to an aircraft carrier that's essentially serving as the Pentagon while earth gets fucked by crazy virus zombies that are superhuman. Pitt is fitted with the small task of finding how this happened, then concocting a vaccine with a super doctor. There's a lot of really good action and Pitt really carries it. There's a few fucking ridiculous moments, like zombies climbing over a 50 foot (or so) wall in Israel by climbing a wall of themselves. If you don't think that's fucking insane try just walking on live bodies while they're moving. It's fucking dumb. Moving forward the hunt for "Patient Zero"/ the origin is interesting and there are some great characters exposed and Pitt shines. Bottom Line; 7.4 out of 10. I'd recommend seeing it in the theaters because I honestly think if you don't see if on the big screen it will lose something. A solid film for all. Hangover III: I was excited when I saw this first came out, but I didn't hear much praise. It's at the $3 cheap seats, so I took a flyer myself. It's a departure from the norm, but the same crew. That should be the strength, but there's too much Leslie Chow, who excels in a bit role, but struggles when his character is expanded on. Doug has to hate these movies because once again he's got about 4 lines and is largely gone for the film. It's more of a strange action/adventure with some comedy sprinkled in, which was a huge disappointment. John Goodman is fun as a Vegas gangster, he's the only newcomer on this one. Bottom Line: 6.0 out of 10. A few cheap laughs, but largely unsatisfying. It did attempt to bring closure to a comedy series, which is very rare and it's pretty nice, but it's ruined by the 20 second clip one minute into the credits. Similar silliness, different plot, unspectacular. Rent when you want some cheap laughs and have ZERO expectations.

Movie Reviews, Sorry it's been SOOO Long my friends.

Sorry for the delay. New job and my old computer crashed, so I felt like using the work computer for blogging might be frowned upon. Iron Man 3- First summer blockbuster to disappoint me. I enjoyed most Iron Man's because they really avoided the typical superhero movie moments that leave you shaking your head mouthing "What the fuck?" during them. This movie sharply regresses to a few too many "What the fuck?" moments. The bad guy is a super-nerd who forms a genius think tank who takes plant regeneration and found out how to use it on humans making them either able to heat their body to lava-like temps, or blow up in a large explosion. It's maddening and ridiculous. They bomb the shit out of Tony Stark's house and almost kill Pepper and Tony. He gets one suit out that is damaged and you're left to believe everything else is buried in the ocean and destroyed. Tony flies the battered suit, or it flies him, to a remote TN town where he repairs the suit and gets to the bottom of the ridiculous "exploding human" plot. He works for days and finally repairs the suit to try to save Pepper and presumably the world, but then he calls in 50 other iron man suits that are completely computer controlled to kill the "lava humans" as I've decided to call them. It's all bullshit and ridiculous in my eyes. Sorry if I ruined the movie, but it wasn't anything special. Bottom Line: 5.8 out of 10. Still worth watching for Downey Jr. and some cool CGI. I liked the limited performance of Sir Ben Kingsley as Mandarin. Star Trek II: Into the Darkness This movie DID NOT disappoint me. The movie starts on a strange alien world they are trying to save from destruction that's coming from an active volcano. Kirk disregards a standing order to not interfere with the alien races way of life in anyway. Kirk gets a slap on the wrist from his Admiral buddy from the first Star Trek. Spock turns him in on it because that's what a Vulcan would do, it's logical. Kirk gets pissy about it, Admiral friend puts him under his command. Star Fleet command is attacked, Admiral friend is killed, but Kirk saves the day and Robocop (Peter Weller) immediately puts Kirk back in command of the Enterprise to hunt down the man responsible. The plot twists and turns magnificently and introduces us to our old friend Khan along the way. Unlike Iron Man 3, I'm not going to ruin this one for you. It has amazing CGI, excellent cast, very good story, and a lack of too many "What the fuck?" moments. Bottom Line: 8.8 out of 10. I was a huge fan. I like J.J. Abrams "Style" and everyone besides Chris Pine as Kirk I'm a huge fan of. Side note: I really think it's because I think he acts like a little bitch spoiled kid instead of the regal William Shatner as Kirk, but I just can't stand him. Trouble With the Curve- I hate Rom-Coms (Romantic comedies for ye laymen) generally, so take this whole thing with a grain of salt. The story follows Clint Eastwood (The reason I watched it) as a VERY old scout with failing vision. He really only cares about his job and plays the pissed off old man we've grown to love Eastwood as. He has a daughter with whom he has a very strained relationship you don't really understand fully. It's Amy Adams who I really like and also tosses in a sprinkle of the ever popular Justin Timberlake as a pitcher Eastwood recruited whose arm blew out and is now trying to become a scout himself for the Bahstan Red SAWX (NOOOOOMAAAAAHHHHH). Eastwood has 3 months left on his deal and his buddy John Goodman (Head of scouting for the Braves) has his back, but young upstart Matthew Lillard uses computers and sabermetrics (though it's a rom-com, so just using a computer that follows players is good enough. No need to explain WARP or anything) who wants the old man out for his new, young guys who understand computers. Adams follows Eastwood to recruit the consensus #1 prospect, putting her ultra hot-shot law career in jeopardy since she's preparing for THE BIG CASE TO MAKE HER PARTNER. She tries to patch up their relationship and fix it, herself, and scout in the process. It's typical stupid rom-com shit all along the way and insanely predictable. Timberlake is enjoyable, I like Eastwood as the pissed off old man, but there isn't much else that kept me giving a fuck. The prospect looks like a if Porter from the Sandlot played high school ball and it's supposed to be believable he's the next Albert Pujols? Get fucking serious. At least make it look like he's an athlete. Bottom Line: 6.1 out of 10. Boring, predictable, painfully bad moments and bad casting. Typical rom-com problems for me.

Pride Amongst the Ugly

I can't believe it's been two months since I've thrown something on here, but I've honestly found nothing worth going to in theatres, so here goes writing about something else. The recent events of the bombing at the Boston Marathon + today's shootout are pretty ugly times. A small event in terms of scale, had a huge effect in scope during a Boston Bruin vs. Buffalo Sabres hockey game a few nights ago. I caught it at home on ESPN and was moved to tears. The link is below, hopefully you can enjoy it advertisement free. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzMsagY7oRs It's an awesome response to an awful thing. I also loved both teams coming together at center ice after the game to raise their sticks to salute the fans. I think America is an amazing place. I still have these feelings despite the fact things aren't perfect, nor will they ever be. We won't stop trying to improve though, and that's a part of why America is great. We have freedoms, which cause problems, but I can't imagine being anywhere else. I feel pride in moments like that watching maybe 20,000 people singing their souls out during our national anthem. One that inspires pride when it speaks of our flag waving despite projectiles flying all around it. We get kicked in the teeth occasionally in this country, more so than any other. I'm consistently pleased with how it further bands us together as a nation, rather than tearing us apart. We take pride in knowing we started as a rag-tag group of transplants that earned our freedom by slogging through 7 years of war with the strongest nation in the world at the time. Pride in our growth as a nation in all things. Pride in that despite hardships, this is still a land of opportunity. I want us all to keep our chin up during this time. Let Boston's emphatic pride pick you up and allow yourself to be carried to a better place. I can't wait to watch the Celtics come back to Boston, and the Red Sox, and the Bruins again. The boisterous, proud, and tough people of one of our oldest and greatest cities will make me proud to be able to call them countrymen, I'm certain of that.

Silver Linings Playbook

Upon seeing this posting up 92% on Rotten Tomatoes & two personal recommendations, I knew I needed to see this despite my general hatred of rom-coms (romantic comedies). Bradley Cooper plays a mentally ill (bi-polar & rage issues) former teacher who starts our story in a mental institution. Slowly the layers get peeled back and you find out he snaps after his wife, who he's still in love with, was cheating on him with a fellow teacher. He's trying to figure out how to control his rage episodes and attempt to live a normal life. His friend invites him to dinner with his wife (Julia Styles) and Julia's sister played by Jennifer Lawrence. She just lost her husband and is in a seemingly fragile state as well. The two start spending time together attempting to form a friendship. Robert De Niro plays Cooper's dad who runs a sports book illegally and is attempting to reconcile with the fact he feels partially responsible for Cooper's characters mental issues since he spent more time with his older brother. Damaged characters played effortlessly and perfectly by an amazing cast. It's such an interesting story of people. Cooper's brutally honest all the time, he doesn't know how else to be. Everyone has quirks that are exposed. Bottom Line: 9.2 out of 10. I feel it a cop-out to vote like Rotten Tomatoes, but this film is just excellent. It's really a film you should head out and see. I can see where the Oscar buzz is from, just phenomenal everything.

Flight

I'm a big Denzel Washington fan, so feel free to chew on this with a grain of salt. Flight follows airline pilot Capt. Whip Whitaker through a crash, and the subsequent troubles. The real story is that he's a functioning (for the most part) alcoholic. The role is amazing, deep & complex. A lessor actor wouldn't be able to OWN it like Denzel. He plays the role just incredibly. Kelly Reilly is a heroin addict who is recovering at the same time Whip is trying to stay sober. Whip was drunk and drinking while the plane crashed because he drinks every day & night. Don Cheedle jumps in as his lawyer and is great in limited action. John Goodman is Whip's friend/fellow addict Harley. The story is just gripping and it takes you places. Bottom Line: 8.7 out of 10. Just an excellent picture following around a riveting character and actor known as Denzel Washington. I hope he picks up another best actor on this one. Go out and see this. I'll be watching this one again.

Battleship- I Bit the Bullet for You All

You'll see a ton of people you recognize in this one, but don't be tempted. They may have spent $200 million dollars on this piece of shit, but that only bought some cool CGI. This is just a ton a CGI and garbage thrown together. It just epitomizes every cliche' ever used in an action film. A bunch of shitty one-liners after killing stuff. Attempt at drama and sadness which completely misses. A useless love story that's just pathetic and contrived. A "bad-boy" turned hero. It's just never-ending. Peter Berg is done directing I have a feeling. The story follows "Harper" and his journey from loser to national hero. He's in the Navy because his brother is a C.O. in the Navy and he gets him in despite the fact he's a huge fuck-up and a felon. We make alien contact with a planet similar to Earth and they send back an expeditionary force. Somehow it coincides perfectly with Naval training exercises with Japan, YEAH, THE GUYS FROM PEARL HARBOR! It's all fucked up, don't waste your time. Bottom line: 3.3 out of 10. All flash, no substance. Amazing CGI, lots of people you'll recognize, but just a garbage plot & writing doom it from the moment it starts.

The Americans

On the verge of refusing to watch a seemingly pretty good show in Kevin Bacon's The Following, I started watching FX's The American's. It's very good. It made me wonder why I don't remember Keri Russell in anything other than knowing she was "Felicity". It made me wonder why I never knew who Matthew Rhys was, or really remember him in anything either. They are both phenomenal, and I love the premise. They are undercover KGB agents completely engrossed in American society. They have two children, "jobs" at a travel agency, and are seemingly completely normal. They carry out KGB missions while attempting to maintain normalcy in our society. You also recognize a few of the other characters like Noah Emerich, who I eternally remember as Coach Craig Patrick in Miracle. This has my recommendation to jump on the band wagon as another excellent program on FX. Bottom Line: I'm giving it around a high 7-low 8 right now. It's just really interesting and well done. It blends the complexities of the life of double agents living in another country. Really good stuff.

The Artist- Two Years Late...

So I was immediately turned off of The Artist when I heard that it was essentially a silent picture in black and white. I saw it on the dollar shelf of Family Video and figured it was about time. The movie is an interesting picture about the demise of the silent film, an art form, in favor of the classless "talky". The appearance of sound in film did indeed ruin the acting career of a few actors of that period. I believe the true story is of Rudolph Valentino, a silent film star who resisted the "talking" picture, I believe my freshman history teacher said it was because he had a high-pitched voice, to paraphrase. This film stars at his incredible peak where he dominated the silent film era as the top leading man. He's at the peak of the film industry and is rich, famous, and adored. His marriage is already loveless and strange though, a theme that continues throughout. In one of his final silent film he's introduced to an actress who storms on the scene by stumbling into paparazzi photos with him named Peppy Miller. She storms onto the scene and becomes the next "it" thing during the first films with sound while Valentino falls into despair. He denounces the new films and promises to keep the silent film strong, a real film & art form. He throws all his money into a silent film he directs, produces, and stars in. It inevitably tanks and he's sent spiraling into despair. All without sound his downfall is painfully portrayed. The acting in this film is top notch. The only cast members I knew heading in were John Goodman and James Cromwell, the two leads are actually French. Bottom Line: 8.4 out of 10. Just an excellent picture despite the complete lack of technology. It was awesome to view this film because it's beautifully acted and done. It's obviously a "tad" boring, but it's a beautifully done film for people who appreciate that side of the medium. I'd rent it for sure if you appreciate fine cinematography and acting.

The Raid: Redemption

I watched The Raid: Redemption when I was on my crazy action trip yesterday. I had it explained by filmdrunk.com as an excellent action/kung-fu movie (paraphrasing here). The story jumps in watching a cop "work-out" in his house and features the most impressive bag work I've ever seen. He kisses his pregnant wife goodbye, and simply says to an old man that "he'll bring him home" (paraphrasing again). Then you are immediately taken inside an armored van with 20 Asian looking guys for a quick speech about the building and the crime lord inside they are trying to take down, and then it's just on. It's a great sustained entrance sequence with a lot of long takes that I really enjoyed. It's 20 "highly" trained cops versus a slumville apartment (I'm really thinking Dredd stole their idea from this picture CLEARLY). Inevitably (SPOILER) the crime lord finds out they're in his crib and INSANITY ensues. It's just awesome for sustained stretches as the apartments violently oppose this Inquisitional force. There is an actual plot that takes some nice turns so it's not just crazy action, which actually isn't a bad thing. There is too much "kung-fu" fighting, even though it's fucking awesome, because you can't possibly believe the surviving cops wouldn't be picking up the weapons of the people they are running through. LITERALLY the "hero" character walks past two knives and a baton HE JUST USED TO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF EIGHT DUDES WITH and rolls unarmed. That pissed me off, but the fighting is just awesome. I'm not going to get the actors names because it doesn't matter, but they are just great at fighting at lightning speeds. The early gunfights are really good as well. It's just frenetic and you are uneasy for the most part. I love the premise and the execution is excellent. Bottom Line: 8.6 out of 10. I really enjoyed the insanity of this film. The action is awesome and really the acting isn't a liability. See this over Dredd FOR SURE if you're looking for an action film. The directing/style is excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I honestly think this is the highest score I could give an action movie and I'll probably end up buying this one.

Dredd: Karl Urban's Wet Dream

After accepting a few warm reviews of Dredd, and needing to use a free coupon at Family Video, I rented it last night. I was immediately worried knowing that Karl Urban is the "star" since most pictures he's in go straight to video and suck donkey balls. The story is same old, same old in the respect that Judge Dredd is the ultimate bad-ass in a world totally destroyed and ravaged from nuclear war. 800 million people occupy a strip of land from Boston to Washington D.C. (Go Sawx). Dredd's job is to assess a new "recruit" who is slightly below the passing grade (which remains unexplained since she's like a female Terminator), but can read minds, which seems helpful in this line of work (Played by Olivia Thirlby, thanks IMDB). Wood Harris is in it (Avon Barksdale from The Wire is who he forever shall be), the wife of King Leonidus from 300 (Lena Headley) is the ruthless slum ganglord, that's about all you'll recognize. Dredd + rookie investigate three bodies thrown from the 25 floor of a giant building slum occupied by the "Mama's" gang. Dredd + rookie find the killer (Wood Harris) and try to escort him to interrogation, "Mama" (300 Lady) locks down the building and tries to kill them. It really is a pretty decent action movie that isn't completely ridiculous, which is refreshing. Urban plays a Terminator clone that's a person, which isn't a stretch at all. Thrilby is pretty decent too actually, and she's very good looking, so maybe that's something worth taking from this experience. They move through the building, killing people, escaping death, having a good time. Really, it's a pretty basic, no-frill action movie that moves along pretty decently and doesn't introduce a bunch of stupid bullshit. Bottom Line: 6.4 out of 10. It's really not shitty and puts a lot of dicks in the dirt. If you like action (A bunch of shooting) and nothing else, it's for you, if you don't IT IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT FOR YOU AND DO NOT WATCH IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. I imagine I'm missing something not seeing it in 3D, but it was pretty entertaining. Worth a free rental or whenever Showtime (I'm assuming) picks it up if you want 1.5 hours of violence.

Zero Dark Thirty- Fuck you Osama

Kathryn Bigelow jumps back into the Middle East for her follow-up of the Hurt Locker. This story follows the hunt for Osama bin Laden through Jessica Chastain's brilliantly played Maya, a fresh CIA recruit tasked with finding Bin Laden and other top Al-Queda members. Jason Clarke is her on the job trainer who shows her the brutal methods of interrogation to get information out of Al-Queda members. It's some of the more realistic "torture" you'll see. The whole film has a realistic feel that shouldn't be too far off from a documentary. Chastain is amazing and needs to capitalize on this role. She's too good to not be in a bunch of stuff. She checks interviews and data and compiles a target known to be Bin Laden's top courier, handing his direct messages off to other head Al-Queda members. She relentlessly follows this lead around the Middle East and even while she's back in Langley, VA. It follows the painful hierarchy she has to negotiate and her fight to get this lead followed to the bitter end. There's a lot of stars in minor roles, which I love. James Gandolfini, Pete from the League, Mack Strong, the Coach from the TV Show Friday Night Lights, and Andy from Parks & Rec (I use "star" loosely, but you'll recognize a lot of people). Lots of guys who look like terrorists do a really good job acting as well. Clarke is stellar as the head of interrogating on site in Pakistan. This movie essentially glorifies the tedious work done to lead up to capturing Al-Queda members, especially Bin Laden. It makes you want to jump into the CIA and start beating terrorists (probably just me). The raid scene is very well done, on par with parts of Act of Valor even. It's completely in the dark and just awesome. Bottom Line: 9.2 out of 10. Excellent movie throughout about an amazing topic and essentially part of our countries history. Chastain carries it SO well and there's just great story and acting throughout. It's really a must-see film if you like movies.

Gangster Squad

I saw Gangster Squad assuming it'd be disappointing, but it wasn't all that bad. Josh Brolin is the tough WWII vet who comes back to Los Angeles to raise a family. Sean Penn plays legendary gangster and L.A. terrorist Mickey Cohen. Ryan Gosling is the street smart cop who doesn't care, then a tragic event happens and he is all-in versus Cohen. Giovanni Rabisi is the wiring guy, Michael Pena, Anthony Mackie, & Robert Paatrick (T1000/ Agent Dagget) round out the list. They brutally take down Cohen's operations with brute force and it's entertaining. Emma Stone is sprinkled in as Cohen's Special Lady Friend who happens to feel like banging Ryan Gosling as well even though he'd do horrific things to them if he ever finds out. The story follows their gang through infancy, to coming together, to taking down Cohen. There's fighting, some shoot-outs, everyone is pretty good to be honest. There are a little too many cliches' and corny bits for my liking, it's more graphic novel than action/drama, but it's entertaining and pretty well-acted. The accent on Penn is a little bothersome for me, but maybe that's just me. If you do like action and period pieces, this is more Sin City than L.A. Confidential, but it's OK. Bottom Line: 6.8 out of 10. I wouldn't spend money on it, but it keeps you largely entertained for an hour and 50 minutes. Really solid cast helps you deal with the corny/unbelievable stuff.

Sweet Job Baseball Writers

Because baseball is archaic in most things it has a bunch of hack baseball writers vote players into the Hall of Fame, or at least in theory. Not only are they a bunch of self-serving assholes with their own agendas, but worst still 75% of them have to agree to send a player into the Hall of Fame. There are no standards, guidelines, or reasoning given. It's just a bunch of fucks who cast a vote and they get tallied up. They answer to no one and do no favors to baseball or it's best players. There all bullshit made up rules, like never voting for a player in their first year because being a "first ballot" Hall of Famer is sacred ground. They try to police the Hall of Fame that already houses cheaters, racists, criminals, and great baseball players. Craig Biggio doesn't get in on this go around despite being the soul of the Astros for and compiling great numbers like 1844 runs, over 3000 hits, or the staggering 285 HBP. He was the poster child for playing the game right and being PED free. That's not enough to get you in though. On the flip side you have Barry Bonds who has unthinkable numbers, but that's not enough to get you in if you're associated with PED's. No Jack Morris, no Curt Schilling (not even close?), no Clemens, no Bagwell, McGuire, Rose, AND I COULD GO ON FOREVER. They do horse-shit moves like waiting for Buck O'Neil to die before letting him into the Hall of Fame. They are a tyrannical and soulless bunch of fucks who have their "code of morals" they enforce and even condemn, yet they were the ones with a chance to report on steroid abuse and make a change before it got completely out of hand. Now, after having their hands down their pants during the whole steroid era, they come out in force to show that they think steroids are wrong and ruined baseball. They enjoyed the huge jumps in popularity and attendance, bringing the game back to relevance after the strike destroyed it, yet now it's convenient and popular to condemn it. It sickens me that nobody gets into the Hall of Fame this year. The writers have to realize it's not THAT exclusive of a club. "The Hall of Fame is comprised of 300 elected members. Included are 208 former major league players, 28 executives, 35 Negro leaguers, 19 managers and 10 umpires. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has elected 112 candidates to the Hall while the Committees on managers, umpires, executives and long-retired players (in all of its forms) has chosen 162 deserving candidates (96 major leaguers, 28 executives, 19 managers, nine Negro Leaguers and 10 umpires). The defunct “Committee on Negro Baseball Leagues” selected nine men between 1971-77 and the Special Committee on Negro Leagues in 2006, elected 17 Negro Leaguers. There are currently 64 living members. By position, there are: 72 pitchers, 17 catchers, 21 first basemen, 20 second basemen, 15 third basemen, 24 shortstops, 21 left fielders, 23 center fielders, 24 right fielders, 20 managers, 10 umpires and 33 executives." (baseball.org/halloffamers) Guess what? A bunch of players that weren't elected this year are better baseball players than guys already in. Mike Piazza was the best hitting catcher ever, it isn't fucking close. Roger Clemens is better than almost any pitcher in Cooperstown. Cases can be made, but if Bert Blyleven can limp in, I'm thinking some players excluded this year shouldn't have to wait 14 years like Blyleven to get in. Funny thing is, I should have stuck with print journalism so I'd have a vote like the rest of the idiots...