House of Cards: Season 2

House of Cards is perfectly tailered for Netflix. It seems like it belongs on HBO, but I love being able to rip through as many episodes as I want to without waiting until the next week. If True Detective were on Netflix I would've ran through all episodes in one sitting, possibly would have bought diapers so I wouldn't have to move... In any case House of Cards Season 2 jumps in at a break-neck pace and rarely slows down. It's a political drama/thriller that moves at such a crazy pace you can't question if everything happening even makes sense. Your inability to think about why that person would go along with almighty Frank Underwood's plan (Kevin Spacey's character) helps out a lot. Robin Wright is just incredible. Not being an enormous fan of her, or really knowing a lot of her work, I can still guarantee this is the best she's ever done. Everyone is excellent, but Spacey and especially Wright are phenomenal. The show follows the twists, turns, plots, and schemes of their fake White House. It's pretty awesome and I can't recommend catching up on Season 1 and then plowing into season 2. Bottom Line: Up there with True Detective and Breaking Bad as the best drama in television

Olympic Love

On the eve of the 2nd week of the Winter Olympics I can hopefully say goodbye to all the figure skating and welcome in more curling, hockey, skiing, etc. Olympic hockey is just fantastic. Larger rinks, less stopages, and giant all-star teams assembled with national pride on the line. It's like if everyone played balls out in the all-star game, which nobody ever does. It's just wonderful and I highly recommend it. I was watching the replay of the USA vs. Russia game to just relive how great that game was and hanging on every shot of the shoot-out and how much fun it was. T.J. Oshie said something just wonderful after the game when he was called a hero, he simply said "The heroes in our country were camoflague and that's not me". All Oshie did was individually go 4-6 in the shootout and with the help of goalie Jonathon Quick carried the USA to victory over Russia in Group Play. It's true the game didn't have immediate ramifications, but it was still special. I was cheering out loud hungover at 9am in the morning, it was special. Oshie hit on two goals that if he would have missed would have lost the game, so it was just gut-wrenching. That's why the Olympics are so special, there are moments where EVERYTHING hangs in the balence for your country. It was further heightened by my personal favorite announcer Dr. Mike Emrick, AKA "Doc". He is truly a national treasure and the best announcer around. I can't wait for the medal rounds where everything is even further heightened. I've also renewed my love of curling and still yearn to learn more about strategy. I can't help but be confused by watching Great Britain and Norway battle not understanding why GBR wouldn't try to put one on the button as they say where they would throw up blocking stones and not go after the middle. There are things I still need to learn, but I THOROUGHLY enjoy curling. I've also been watching skeleton, luge, skiing/snowboarding and bobsledding. I feel awful for Bob Costas knowing how he completely dominates the Olympics every 2 years, but his horrific eye infections leave him too ugly for HD. I miss Costas doing the NBA Finals and the World Series. It saddens me we're missing out on him just because NBC doesn't pony up the cash for the big events anymore. It's criminal actually. It's the same reason we get Jim Nantz for the NCAA Tournament and not Costas, Vitale, or anyone else not affiliated to CBS. It's not fair that we don't get to enjoy the best and brightest because of contractual obligations. I'm one of the only people I know who thoroughly enjoys the NBA and the All-Star game festivities. The rivalry of the East vs. West seems more real and serious than in years past. LeBron vs. Durant being the Marquee, but the more deep West vs. the front heavy East is also interesting. Having LeBron and Paul George playing together should be VERY interesting too, so there's a few things to watch for during the game. Hopefully they don't mail it in and fuck around for the first 3 quarters and try to pull something together in the 4th resembling real basketball. The game is much better than it was 10 years ago, or whenever the watershed moment that made people stop watching and like NCAA much more than NBA ball. If you're one of these people the game is much better and worth watching again, especially the playoffs. That's when things go up to 11 and quality is all over the place.

Fast 6 Furious 6: GO TO THE WELL

So clearly this franchise apparently just prints cash because they really should have stopped this train after the first one. I am not up on all the Fast & Furious movies, nor should I be as someone with dignity and self-respect (a shred at least), but there's your preface. This one finds us all over the globe as Tyrese is flying somewhere tropical with a bunch of women, LUDA is in a Spanish speaking country, Paul Walker is playing daddy somewhere and Vin Diesel is still in Brazil banging the hot police lady from the other 5 Fast 5 Furious movie. The asian dude and German lady are globe trotting all over and in love still apparently, forgot about them somehow... ANYWAY there's an amazing heist that could only be done by that crew since it's involving driving from Mario Kart and makes no sense. THE ROCK and newcomer Gina Carano round them up to help them because Ledy (Michelle Rodriguez) is still alive and rolling with the bad guys. Insanity ensues, one fight and race scene more insane than the next, until you no longer care who lives and dies or the story. Gina Carano was better than I thought, though that's based solely on her fighting and the fact I find her very attractive. The story probably holds together, but the instanity of the stunts and fights just gets old. That encompasses half the movie, so if your brain doesn't work and you don't mind impossible things happening constantly, you may enjoy this one. I can only focus on how many times everyone should have already died horribly as I watch. Bottom Line: 6.2 out of 10. If you liked the other movies, you're going to like this one. It was a bit much for me in all aspects really.

The World's End: AKA the Movie with the Shaun of the Dead guys, not Jonah HIll, etc.

SO this was Britain's answer to This is the End, or This is the End was AMURRICA'S response to The World's End, but there are some similarities clearly. In The World's End Simon Pegg (Red haired dude that's in a lot of stuff) plays "The King", a 40 something year old loser who can't get over, or past how cool he used to be. He arranges for his high school mates (friends for you Yanks) to make another run at "The Golden Mile", a 12 pub crawl across their hometown where you must down a pint at each one until you end at The World's End Pub and are declared God's, or some-such. They only make it 7 deep as 18-ish year olds, but somehow all 5 agree that as 40-something year olds it's a great idea. During the tour they notice things are a bit different and things keep getting stranger. I really wasn't an enormous fan and felt things moved extremely slow. There was a lack of jokes and the usual fun accompanying Simon Pegg's movies like this. I really don't want to point out all the shit that couldn't happen, etc, but it really was stupid and I didn't care about any of the characters, etc. Bottom Line: 4.1 out of 10. Sad I spent $3.45 for it online and I'll be donating it to pawn America of something soon.

The Internship: The UNRATED Version

The Internship I originally looked down upon baed on it's PG-13 rating. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson need to be in R-rated comedy where they can curse and explore the vulgarities of our language. The unrated version accomplishes that and more. I can't imagine seeing the PG-13 version now, and you shouldn't either. The movie follows Wilson and Vaughn as they are unceremoniously told they no longer have jobs selling watches where they've worked for YEARS. Now, they attempt to figure out their careers as the world has passed them by. Wilson starts a job selling mattresses when Vaughn tells him of an internship opportunity at Google, where they are going to bring their "old school" ways to new school technologies. There's obviously some cheap thrills along the way based on them being technologically stupid, but there's a lot of heart and comedy based on the strength of the characters. I really liked the movie and the unrated version really earns the tagline unrated, which is pretty awesome considering how rare that happens. It's a lot of fun with a lot of heart mixed in. Bottom Line: 7.9 out of 10. I enjoyed it a lot more than the rating it's generally tracking and I'm overjoyed to have bought it for $3 online. It's worth a viewing for some harmless fun.

Fruitvale Station

I went on a limb to buy Fruitvale Station because I heard great things and winning a bunch of stuff at Sundance generally means good things, and in this case it's spot on. It's Michael B. Jordan's show and he crushes it as a guy in Compton trying to get rid of his life of dealing and move on. He's got a girlfriend and daughter and a close knit family. You find yourself pulling for him and he tries to get his life together and move on. The film follows him the 24 hours before the Fruitvale Station "incident". It's really a character study on Oscar Grant and attempting to humanize him. The cast is fantastic and it will probably make careers for Jordan and Melonie Diaz. It's not extremely exciting, but it's just excellent. He goes from being a nice man to a beast at he flip of a switch. It's very interesting and I highly recommend it to all. Bottom Line: 8.2 out of 10. It's certainly worth watching however you come across it. I don't want to tell you too much about the film since I need to avoid spoilers of any kind. Soak this one in because you'll be seeing a lot more of these actors in the near future I'm guessing.

Black Sails, also a little Phillip Seymour Hoffman Talk

Black Sails is a pretty grandoise pirate show on Starz. I'm hoping it fills the Spartacus void for me, but it lacks the amazing sword play currently. It takes a rather realistic look into pirating and follows around a crew as they search for a grand Spanish ship carrying the King's gold to the tune of $5 million of whatever their currency is. I enjoy the time spent on shore on an island that accepts pirated goods that turns around the sells them to respectable merchants. It's very interesting to see how pirating may have worked. I'm currently a fan and I think it's going to get great when they are back on the seas hunting the treasure galleon. I don't know any of the actors by name, but I see a few familiar faces and they are all currently pulling their weight. It scares me how much the "cook" looks like Rafael Nadal, it's honestly bothering me. I think we're on to something good with this show and I'd put it on the DVR list if I were you. Phillip Seymour Hoffman died of a drug overdose and it's awful news. He was a rare talent who really could dominate a role. Capote was such an example, but he really BECAME the character. Everything he's in is just a great example of him becoming a role. I think when he goes back and forth with Meryl Streep in Doubt is just incredible acting on both ends (also Amy Adams is great). He was underappreciated in almost everything he was in. It's really too bad he was taken at just 46 years old from us. Drug abuse is really tragic and after he sought rehab I was hoping things were in the right direction for him, but clearly this was not the case. I recently purchased "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" to try to experience more of his work that I'm unfamiliar with. I know it's just going to futher sadden me about the loss of a great actor before his time. PSA- Stop fucking around with heroin everyone.

Lone Survivor

Peter Berg, I believe, deeply loves our military. I firmly believe he came into this projet trying to honor our servicemen through the awful event of Operation Red Wings. The story is of a military operation where four Navy Seals were dropped into a remote area of Afghanistan to scope out a village a determine if there was their primary target and a secondary target there. The four men encounter issues with comms (communications) and it just gets worse from there. They encounter 3 goat herders on the mountain who they capture, but without being able to reach anyone to make THE decision on what to do, they are forced to decide for themselves. They decide to cut them loose and go to high ground to report to HQ that the mission is compromised. They cannot reach HQ and the herder's make it to a village that support the Taliban and the result is not good. The actors did an amazing job through training and instruction from Marcus Lattrell (The Seal who wrote Lone Survivor and said Lone Survivor, sorry for the spoiler). The stars are Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana. I feel like now would be a great time to also mention the actors who portrayed the Taliban and Afghan people were also phenomenal and really deserve credit for a great job. It's a story highlighting sacrifices made by servicemen and women that are called upon daily to do the extraordinary. I wish it mentioned that more than just members of Operation Red Wings deserve our gratitude, love, and respect. Bottom Line: 7.8 out of 10. I would agree with the statement it is the most realistic war movie since Saving Private Ryan. Act or Valor was incredible as well and perhaps better technically, but this movie is as gritty and real as you'll find. You can wait until it comes out on video, but if you do watch it you'll want to stay through the credits and be prepared to dry your eyes constantly. Hats off to the people involved in the project.

The Devil Came on Horseback

This film is a documentary following a former Marine Captain (Brian Steidle) and his time spent in Sudan being an advisor to the African Union on a ceasefire and peace that followed 20 years of civil war. This needs to be emphasized STRONGLY, there are images you will see in the this movie that you aren't going to be able to unsee, and they will disturb you. They are certainly among the most disturbing that I've ever seen and I know I won't be able to forget them. I don't know how Brian can deal with what he saw. If you are completely unaware genocide has been going on for the ast decade in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Darker, Islamic Africans are being exterminated, or at the bare minimum, displaced. It's estimated at 400,000 dead and 2.5 million displaced at the time of the film in 2007. It's just an up close and painful look at one of the worst ongoing situations in the world. It's certainly among the worst things to happen during my lifetime. Brian takes pictures every day of dead people, often children being involved in it, for almost a year. Systematic destruction of villages every day for around 60 days. I don't know how he sleeps, it's just amazing that he's sane and hasn't committed suicide or become addicted to drugs/alcohol. I commend his work and I am frankly amazed by his strength as a person. There's a part where an Islamic man who fled to Chad talks about how they are completely dependant upon America for aid and that no Islamic nations help out at all. It's really crushing because I thought about how little we had done as a nation, yet that was BY FAR better than anyone else. Bottom Line: 9.8 out of 10. It's what documentary film is all about. So powerful and gripping it's painful. I once again want you to know what you're getting into because the pictures are horrific and awful, so if you are weak of heart or stomach, it's not for you. It's certainly worth watching and will almost certainly change the way you think about Africa. It's on Netflix and it's probably the best thing on there.

American Hustle: FINALLY

I finally made it over to American Hustle today. $5 and free 44 oz. popcorn with a "valid" college ID, I clearly use that interpretation loosely. I finally got to see American Hustle and the quality is amazing. The performances, soundtrack, wardrobe, etc. is all spot on in my opinion. The story follows Christian Bale as a part-time laundromat owner, part time con-artist. Amy Adams is his flame and love INTEREST who adds to his scamming business to where they start pulling in really good money. Jennifer Lawrence is Bale's wife, and to further complicate the story Bale adopted her child and claims him as his own. That begins the complicated mess. Their scam attracts some FBI attention from Bradley Cooper and he convinces them to "play ball" and hand over 4 other counterfeit types to be exhonerated. Adams wants to flee, Bale convinces her to stay, and the meat of the story happens. It's movie heaven for the most part. Renner plays a great role as Mayor Carmine, a beloved NJ mayor who wishes only to boost his states revenus and employment through legalizing gambling, which he already accomplished, and re-opening several casinos and gambling halls. He needs capital to do so (money for idiots out there) and Bale and Co. are happy to oblige. The story, cast, and everything is simply top notch and I don't want to spoil anything else from the movie. Bottom Line: 9.2 out of 10. Down graded slightly for being a little slow, but everything else is top notch. I personally wasn't bothered by the movies "slowness", but I enjoyed every minute. I think Adams blew away Lawrence's performance, but both, and really everyone's is top notch stuff. Bale is Oscar worthy as well, but his role as Irving pales in comparison to McConaughy's role in Dalls Buyer's Club, or Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years as a Slave. DiCaprio gets wayyyy too much love in my opinion for Wolf of Wall Street, especially this year when 3 performances are clearly stronger in my eyes. It's a tough year for leading men. Lawrence really shouldn't win for Best Supporting Actress, I'd personally role with Lupita Nyong'o from 12 Years again, but she will probably walk away with the award. Adams should probably win, but I've only seen Bullock in Gravity for her competition, and that was certainly a great performance as well. Simply some of the best acting you'll see from the "feet up" in this film, a line you'll learn to appreciate. Certainly worth you're 5-10 dollar investment to see in theatres.