X:Men: First Class

Here is my second favorite super hero movie for 2011 thus far. And my second favorite in the series (to the first. not because it is worse, just because I was so excited to have an X-Men movie). I really like how they tried to hang on to a relationship with the other movies, but not so much that it held it back or brought it down. Just enough for reference. The chemistry that James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Charles and Erik sells it. They are friends on different sides of an argument durring the Cuban missile crisis that work together, but destined to fall apart. Jennifer Lawrence is super hot as Mystique. The only problem I have with her is that she is tight with Xavier for the better part of her life and she just bails on him when he needs her the most. Kevin Bacon is a very good energy absorbing bad guy. He sells his cool version of evil rather well. For the most part in this effects heavy prequel the effects are rather well done. Of course it has it's miscues, but that are not bad enough to rip me away from the action at hand. The only place it did get me was with Beast. When he gets all fuzzy I find myself wishing he was just in full makeup like in the latest adaptation of The Wolfman (2010). This movie also lets you get acquainted with some mutants palls that you may not know about. With cameos from Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Romijn this is easily the best of the X series. It is packed with the action, and fun for us big geeky kids. (which may skew my opinion slightly)

Bridesmaids

This a good strong attempt at a guy movie for girls... or is it a girl movie for guys. Either way it is pretty funny. The first part of the movie is filled with jokes to (in my opinion) rope in the fellas. Then it slowly drifts farther and farther to chick comedy. Which is OK because it still does things to make it work for us gents. I think this movie is funny. My wife thinks it is hilarious. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph are Annie and Lillian two life long friends who's lives have gone in different directions. The Lillian gets engaged and hilarity ensues. Melissa McCarthy could be Chris Farley's sister, and she is really funny as the butch element in this female party. Of course Ellie Kemper, best know to me as Erin on The Office, is very adorable and kind of sneaky funny as a super clean cut newly wed.. This movie has a good cast and will be enjoyed by guys, and loved by the gals. Fans of Knocked Up & and The Hangover will get the idea.

Hesher

Hesher is about a boy/family whose mother has passed and are dealing with the aftermath when the boy happens across a complete lunatic that ends up somehow bringing everyone together. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL) is this title character, a transient, who forcefully moves in with T.J. (Devin Brochu) and his family. Hesher swings from complete lunatic to near normalcy back to crazy town pretty much the whole movie. Rainn Wilson does a fine dramatic role as T.J.'s dad who is so overcome with grief he can barely function. And Natalie Protman continues her string of things that own as a cashier at a local grocery who helps T.J. and become a source of his affection. This movie has it moments but I feel like i spent more time wonder what the crap Hesher was doing to really enjoy anything. My chance to watch this came from a friend of mine renting it, and I am glad I didn't pay for it. The acting was fine just the story didn't work. Why does T.J. get picked on? Why let a weirdo just move into your house? How do Hesher and Nicole hook up? Why does Hesher drag this kid places then bail on him? It just missed on me as a whole. Think different comment below and change my mind.

Moneyball

Do you know anything about baseball? Played it? Watched it? Care about it at all? Then you should enjoy this movie. I don't believe you have to know that much about baseball, but it helps. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are great together.  Brad Pitt is a former up and comer (Billy Beane) that didn't pan out who is managing a team that cannot get over that hump. In his quest to better his team he finds Jonah's character Peter shows him a way to manipulate the system. As an entertaining feature goes I enjoyed it. Hill was funny but not too funny, and Pitt was fantastic as always. Philip Seymour Hoffman makes a good showing as the manager that will not cooperate with the new system. The struggle and near epic failure add a very good source of drama and tension. There are only two things that i had a serious problem with 1: Beane's daughter singing some stupid song at two points in the movie. I don't want it, and it adds nothing but extra time. 2: I knew how it would pan out. which in this case takes away from the drama a little. But on a whole I feel it is a real  good sports movie that anyone could love because it is also a good movie.

Thor

I haven't watched Thor since I have started my blog. So, since I watched it last night I feel as though I should give it it's dues. Thor in my most humble opinion is the best super hero movie I have seen this year. It does not reach the status of The Dark Knight or even Iron Man, but still very entertaining. I am going to do a compliment sandwich here since I feel as though there is much more good about this movie than bad.
From the first sequence where Thor rolls in and owns the frost giants, to this mortal battle with shield, to his final fight with Loki, Thor give very satisfying action. Thor is cocky cause he is awesome and he has to learn that there is more than be really really good looking... I mean awesome.
The story is good enough. It gives good reasons for things happening except Thor's transition to hero. He has a failure, then a long talk with Jane about the universe, and BAM! He is not a douche bag anymore. It just feels a but shallow, but adequate. There are also some special effects things that I noticed the second time around, but not enough to make me dislike it at all.
The cast OWNS. Portman, Hopkins, Hemsworth, Skarsgard, everybody. Everyone from shield, Asgard, hospital are very good. They do nothing but build  and sell the story which makes it as good as possible.
So in short Thor is a very entertaining Supermanish superhero story that does its job.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

This is what Bucky Larson should have been, and by that I mean actually funny. Just a raunchy and mega sexual, but again actually funny. Complete with a good combo a smart and dumb. Basic gist is Zack and Miri are best friend roommates that are poor and need to make come cash. So they round up a merry band of misfits and decide to make some porn, but in the end find each other in their search for money. Seth Rogen is pretty much his token character which is of course funny. Elizabeth Banks is dirty, sweet, and sexy. Craig Robinson, who many may know from the office, always gets a good laugh. For good reason, cause he is hilarious. One of my favorite lines from him, "I am disturbed at how much this is turning me on."... well much funnier in context. A brief cameo by Justin Long and Brandon Routh is really really funny, and really really gay. long-short: if you like Seth Rogen and all those quick witted sex comedies  like Knocked Up, Superbad, and The 40 Year Old Virgin then you should dig this.

Seven Days in Utopia

Here is a movie I really wanted to like. A good message + Robert Duvall should be a win. It wasn't. just when you think the acting is passable they would have a scene or a big of dialogue that feels just wrong. What was right was Deborah Ann Wall. A fine performance and love interest to ouR "hero".  Well they flirt a little, but you have no idea if the end up together. He tries to kiss her once, gets shut down and told it doesn't mean never, then leaves her in Utopia. Strike 1. And there are a few story things that irk me, but one in particular. There is a part in the movie where Luke (hero) must learn to properly visualize his shot and then paint it. Well the says that it will take this really complicated bull crap shot, but it clearly doesn't. They act like it is behind the tree and he will have to curve it. When he takes the shot he hits it straight by the tree. No curve, just pops it by the tree. And the painting he draws... well, maybe he should be painting instead of drawing. Strike 2. And he has this big turn around where he realizes that life is not about the game. It's about family, love, faith. Which is great. Because in my opinion it is. He takes his new mind frame and plays some awesome golf. All the way to a play off with the #1 golfer in the world Tea Kwan Ho (Choi) and when he takes  putt that would make him the victor, it stops. Then Duvall voices over, "Does he make the putt? Does it really matter?" then they tell you to go to some website to see if he made it. STRIKE 3. I haven't checked, because that is crap. OF COURSE IT MATTERS, YOU IDIOTS! You want him to make the putt. You want him to be enlightened AND be awesome. This whole thing was a huge waste of time because of that garbage. They appear to have had a budget, plugs (from Callaway, to Odyssey, to the Golf channel), and a decent cast. and they screwed it up. which is not something you can afford to do when you alienate people because you are about golf. Watch Bagger Vance or Tin Cup and then we'll talk. btw don't you love the strike thing for a movie about golf? OUT

this should have happened

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star

Bucky is funny... for like 2 minutes then you get used to him. Usually really crass humor does it for me, but not this time. Everyone in the porn industry has funny names, and you see all the movie posters with the really good names. But it is really kinda boring. Nick Swardson commits to Bucky and plays it innocent which is good. . It's really nice to see Christina Ricci who is a waitress afraid of injuring someone else in the line of duty.. Don Johnson is pretty funny as the director Miles Deep. The thing that made me laugh the most was Bucky's roommate Gary played by Kevin Nealon. He was totally insane and wonderful. The best scene was when Bucky is at an audition for mac and cheese and flicks it out and commences to masturbate. You know what didn't even get a giggle out of me? All the jokes about his teeth. No clue why just weren't funny. Over all rather boring for as movie about a goofy kid in the pron industry I'm sad to say.

Contagion

Here is a movie that makes a mad dash for paranoia, and might get you to bite. From all the statistic of how may times you touch your face a day to all the shots of multiple people touching the same object they show how often you come into contact with other people indirectly. What it definitely does is show how quickly they believe the world would fall apart, and how the self preservation instinct would bring down society in the face of an epidemic. It also shows those who could profit and those who rise above, and how much the government protocols can help and hinder progress in such extremes.  It just misses for me. Matt Damon comes out strong. He put on a little weight, and plays the husband, father, detainee really well. But he get's lost to me later on partly I feel because the scope of the movie is global. Laurence Fishburne if fine. he doesn't do anything spectacular with his character. He gets the job done. Jude Law coasts. Oh, and Gwyneth Paltrow makes a brief appearance also. The best thing I can say for this movie is that it is more interesting than entertaining.

Friday September 9, 2011... on Saturday

Well sorry I missed Friday, but here is everything IGN had to offer on Friday on Saturday.

• Chuck Norris & Jean-Claude Van Damme in Expendables 2!? YES PLEASE!
• Arnold Schwarzenegger & Bruce Willis in Expendables 2?! OOPS! I'll Clean that.
• We liked Beetlejuice. You are going to ruin it. I Promise.
• Better get a Monopoly in the theaters. Because that is the only way I am watching.
• A total reinvention of Bloodsport. I submit they should compete in Pogs.
• The Great Gatsby. Read the book? Now see them try and make the movie.
• Can The Gangster Squad blow your brains out with awesome?
• Michael Shanon talks about Zod... like I care.
• Human Centipede was not nearly as gross and shocking as I had hoped. Maybe 2 will blow me away
• Russell Crowe is in for Les Miserables.
• Mel Gibson and Jewish warrior flick. Not a crazy as it sounds.
• And Denzel does... who cares! Denzel does it, and we love it!

Thanks again to IGN, and once again you know what I know

The Debt

This is kind of a Good, Bad, and Ugly situation.

The Good: The acting. Every one form "Old Rachael" (Helen Mirren) to "Young David" (Sam Worthington) did a bang up job for what they had to work with. But the standouts were  Jessica Chastain as "Young Rachael" and  Jesper Christensen as "Dieter Vogel". Jessica is lovely and tough. when I catch her profile she reminds me of Geena Davis. She brings good emotion and feeling to her role. From sparing with the boys to her gynecological exam with the teams target she bring it. She only falls short of our villain. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing. a mass murdering psycho who after WW2 has assumed a new life. As the doctor he is professional, and as a captive he his manipulative and dark. The cast really doesn't let you down at all though.

The Bad: The action. Being there isn't any. Well, very little. For a spy/espionage film there are very few stealthy kills and even less gun play. This movie a a DRAMA.  When it happens it gets a 4/10. a little disappointing. And without further ruing the story (which i will get to in a moment) i cannot elaborate, so you will have to take my word for it.

The Ugly: The Story. There are hole in this thing bigger than my... well they are pretty big. Here is where I am going to ruin some things for you. (1) They tie this guy down with rope. Seriously? He gets a shard of glass and cuts though this bindings. Handcuff are #1 on the captive check list. I know you are Soviet controlled East Berlin, but if you can get fake papers you can get handcuffs which would have solved many problems and saved one leading character a scar on her face. (2) This old Nazi doctor gets the drop on Rachael TWICE! The first SURPRISE is acceptable, but the beat down she receives is not. She is a trained spy and should waste that old turd, but he slaps her around and kicks her in the face. WHATEVER! And where did the two guys run off to?  And the second time she is older, but so is he. He is like 1,000 years old and you let him stab you MORE THAN once with scissors?! It's a joke. (3) Spending so much time on the love story of Rachael and David. I would have it but they spend so much time developing something that ultimately has no real bearing because they never get together. The only affect it has on the story is that they cannot escape when they first capture their target because David won't leave her. Why? I have no idea. I am pretty sure again that the government could arrange something to get her our because if they don't start shooting she is just a nobody. You need them to be involved to drive this portion, but spending so much time just drags out this already drug story even further. (4) The take too good of care of their prisoner. They hold him down to feel him. LET HIM STARVE. They shave him. Why does it matter if he has a beard? And THEY LET HIM SPEAK! if you don's want him to talk to you beat the crap out of him. Punish!

It's just a whole list of should have, could have, would have. that end up a big  dull waste of coin. This would be a good buy for $1.

Friday September 2, 2011

360 and The Deep Blue Sea... I only care about 360 because of Mr. Hopkins

Who wants to watch Ronald Reagan? A bunch of people. Probably

Tired of Bond yet? Not Me. More Bond, James Bond

With this rumored cast(Russel Crowe, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter) how Miserable can it be?

I love that Johnny Depp does movies that are good. Thin Man

Will The Avengers kick you in the Skrull?

Not new Batman, but entertaining none the less.

Go Joe!

David and Goliath... with The Rock... really?

Die Hard 5

Sell me Superman better! I need IT!

It's Alive! Alive!

Wanna see Red State! (explicit)

and last but not least. Give me this Captain Planet, and I will give you my heart.

A Bunch this week, but now you know what I know.
Thanks again to IGN

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Ah Nostalgia... Nothing like a good romp though the junk of my youth. But it sure is fun. This movie is the cookie cutter for over acting. Bill S. Preston, Esq (Alex Winter) & Ted Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves) just ham it up through history. Here is your plot: These 2 dudes go through a most triumphant trip through time because the future has been made excellent by their band's (Wyld Stallyns) music, and to stay together and save the totally awesome future they must pass their oral history report. After you have seen this then you will know what just happened.  George Carlin makes a brief shot as their time traveling mentor Rufus. They Bring back these overly comical figures from history to talk in their report. Just super goofy and fun. I watched it and thought you should too.