The Post with me updating the Movies I've seen this year
Hostel- A moive that left me disappointed becasue of the marketing that went into it. They positioned it as a brutal horror film that was going to be people getting tortured in an ugly place. The movie was brutal at a couple spots and had a nice moral undertone to it but was lacking more time at the Hostel.

Glory Road- A poignant tale of the first all-black starting five in college basketball as they took on the powerhouse Kentucky and changed basketball forever. It is a good film filled with great performances but is trying to hard at times to be a morality tale.

Hoodwinked- A great little twist on the old story of Little Red Robin Hood. The different versions of the story entwines nicely and there are some good characters--especially the Billy Goat.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2- I liked the first one and overall liked the second one but it was missing something that the first one had. There is a great little side plot with the young girl of Martin's family dating the young boy from Eugene Levy's family. It's a cute little story.

When A Stranger Calls- Decent remake of the old tv movie but not great. The young actress playing the lead role is gorgeous and holds up well under the weight of a bad script. There is not enough conflict in it though, but they improve on the original if only by a little bit.

Brokeback Mountain- Really lives up to the hype surrounding it based solely on the performances of Jake, Heath, and Michelle Williams. If Heath Ledger wins the Oscar he'll hav done it by saying maybe the least amount of words in Oscar winner history. His performance is all physical and emotional and you really feel for him. The ending is incredibly sad and I got to admit I was moved by it. The only gripe I have is--this is not unlike any other romantic drama in a lot of ways so I don't know if it would get as much attention as it does without the gay cowboy angle. The talk of the movie being graphic is ridiculous as they show nothing but rather imply more than anything. Actually they show more nudity of the women than anything. Anne Hathaway has got more going on upstairs than Princess Diaries let on.

Final Destination 3- The guys who helmed the original (and also many classic episodes of The X-Files) return and hold true to the original's themes. Death is stalking people who survived a pretty cool looking roller coaster crash. A quite depressing film really as the message is--"Death will find you"

Date Movie- Pretty good spoof movie but they attacked some questionable things to parody which took me out at times. Plus they were too obvious at times instead of letting the joke speak for itself. "You Hitch?" "Do I look like Will Smith?" Ok we get the joke guys. Still Alyson Hannigan looks great and some other performances are really good.

16 Blocks- Bruce Willis as a cop who is given the task of getting a witness in a trial downtown to the courthouse, while being pursued by cops and other baddies who want the witness dead. Very good boxed in thriller.

Firewall- Poorly written, poorly plotted, and just overall bad. Lots of logic leaps and just outright boring at times. Harrison Ford couldn't save this thing.

The Hills Have Eyes- I'm always a little cautious of horror remakes but this one is actually really good. It actually improves on the original. There was one scene I was sure would be changed but they kept it and it got a great reaction from the crowd.

Stay Alive- Very good premise for a movie but poorly executed. The movie drags way to often and at times it just gets silly. Plus I'm pretty sure focus grouop testing changed one person's storyline but I'm not toally positive on that.

Slither- Excellent movie. A love letter to the B-movie horror classics with twists of humor thrown in there. Lots of laugh out loud moments and some pitch perfect corny acting. Loved this

Scary Movie 4- At points funny, at points just dumb. Kind of how it goes with parodies. It hits more than it misses, but if you're not interested in the material it's not for you.

Inside Man- Very good movie. Spike Lee did a great job directing this, and Denzel Washington was great in it. I love how the moral lines keep criss-crossing and erasing as the movie goes along. Great cast as well with Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster.

Silent Hill- I honestly don't know what I think about this movie. Maybe the greatest video game inspired movie ever but that's not saying much. The movie tells a decent story but gets incredibly confusing at times, and the ending is just dumb, becasue not a person in the theater knew what was going on.

The Sentinel- Decent but not great thriller about a person inside the government he is working against the president. Great actors, but a better script would've helped this film out.

United 93- Very well done movie. It tells a story without being exploitative, and is very careful to balance real world events with constructed ones. Very sad movie though to see in theaters.

Poseidon- The remake has none of the unintentional humor of the original and is just a downer. One of those movies where you sit there and say, "Why are they in this?"

The Da Vinci Code- I thought this was good, but it didn't seem to get the overwhelming response people were hoping for. The climax seemed to drag on forever, and it became silly the further it went (I felt that way about the book too)

X-Men 3- I'll catch flak for this but I liked it a lot. It's not near as good as either of the first ones but it's a fun little ride while it lasts. They should've held back on introducing so many characters though.

See No Evil- Really corny and dumb horror movie. Kane is good in it though. Am I saying that beacuse he's a wrestler or becasue I really believe that though.

An American Haunting- Stupid movie and if not for Donald Sutherland I would've given up completely on it. Slight problem the commercials all said, "The only time a spirit has killed a human," but the only person who dies is killed by a human. Bad.

The Break-Up- Not near as funny as it should've been and it times it is just uncomfortbale to watch, especially if you've been around couples fighting like this. Too real at times.

The Omen- Pointless, stupid remake and I kind of feel stupid for going to see it. It's almost like a car crash to me-I have to see how bad they screw it up.

Click- Bad marketing for this film. People expecting a full-on Sandler comedy are going to be disappointed, when it hits the third act and becomes Sandler's take on Its A Wonderful Life. Not a bad movie but not what you'd expect.

Superman Returns- Again I'm sure I'll catch hell but I enjoyed this movie. Anything where Kevin Spacey gets to act Spacey-ish is ok by me. Kinda tanked though at the box office didn't it?

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest- Fun movie, moves along briskly, and plenty of funny lines in it. Lots of clever action sequences as well.

You, Me, and Dupree- I like Owen Wilson and this movie was at the very least funnier than The Break Up. A little longer than it should be but Hudson and Dillion do great jobs playing the straight person to Wilson in the film.

Clerks 2- Really funny movie. I still think the donkey scene kind of slowed the pace down a lot but the ending was nice and touching and a good little twist to tie up the Clerks characters. Jay doing the Buffalo Bill dance was great.

Talladega Nights- Laugh out loud funny. Will Ferrell does a great job of playing these incredibly over the top characters but not making you feel stupid wacthing them. Something Sandler isn't always good at. John C. Reilly is great as the sidekick in this movie. Another movie that gets funnier with each viewing.

The Descent- Super Bad-Ass horror movie. Downright scary at times, gory, and to top it all off some very good fleshed out female characters. That all leads to what is a modern horror classic. If you liek this movie check out Dog Soliders by the same director--very good as well.

Snakes on a Plane- We need more movies like this in the megaplex. Movies that are cheesy and know it. Probably came out late onsidering the buzz it had but Samuel L. Jackson being well Samuel L. Jackson works for me.

Pulse- Horrible movie. Easily the worst movie I've seen all year in theaters. Fine little Veronica Mars and her fantastic ass (Matthias knows) can't save it. Had to have been written by a cat with a crayone taped to its paw.

The Wicker Man- The movie is completely horrible, but is so bad that by the end you kind of just start laughing at it. Nicholas Cage looks lost, and the story is updated to fit a modern twist and fails miserably.

Crank- Jason Statham is about as hardcore as you cna get and him whupping ass for 80 minutes is great. he does blow, he stabs people, he bangs his girlfriend doggy style in the middle of Chinatown. Sounds great doesn't it.

The Illusionist- In the interest of fairness let me say I love Ed Norton. This movie is amazing. Extremely well acted by Norton and Paul Giamatti. Very good plot, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Better than The Prestiege.

Artie Lange's Beer League- I love softball and I love Beer which gives this movie big thumbs up for me. I was surprised how funny it was at times, and the big schlub who never seems to get ahead resonates with me.

Jackass: number 2- Just ok. After a while it's just guys hurting themselves in increasingly less clever manners. Funny at times, other times just mind-numbing.

The Departed- Everything works in this from the acting to the directing to the script. This would be the perfect movie to finally give Scorcese the Oscar for. See it now in theaters while you can or buy it right away on dvd when it comes out.

Grudge 2- Pretty much follows the same story arc as the first one but kind of makes up new rules and applies them which bothers me in horror films. Not as good as the first one.

The Prestige- Great acting but the story fell flat. By the end I was convinced they were just adding plot twists for the sake of having plot twists. I would have liked this more had I not seen The Illusionist a month earlier.

Saw 3- A decent way to wrap up the trilogy. Gory, scary maybe twice, but otherwise an excuse to present the same moral dilemnas disgusied as blood filled traps as the first two movies. Tobin Bell was great again.

Borat- I don't care who says otherwise hilarious movie. There were a few times where I couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. The whole wrestling scene is better and more clever than anything the Jackass guys have ever done.

Stranger than Fiction- I think this movie is getting lost at theaters and it's a shame. A really wonderful, touching little film. Ferrell is good in it playing a completely different character and Dustin Hoffman does a great job at being the skeptic who is trying to believe in him but sort of blow him off. Emma THompson is phenomenal in this film. Could be a sleeper at Oscar time.

Unrest- After Dark films presented a Horror Fest where they showed 8 independent films awaiting release. This one was the story of a medical patient who thinks her cadaver wasn't killed by self inflicted wounds. The movie is creepy at times while avoiding the usual gore these small budget films go for. Acting wasn't bad in it either.

DeJa Vu- Read what i said in the Black Friday post for now.

There--all caught up
- posted by Brian @ 11/29/2006 04:45:00 AM

 
The Post with my Black Friday story
So this year I went shopping again like I have the past couple Black Fridays but this year was probably the craziest I have seen it in years. The line wrapped completely around the building and was back out into the parking lot when I got in at 5:10 am....I bought a Panasonic Mini DV Camera marked down 170 dollars off its normal price. Then I added Groundhog Day, Hitch, and the first season of Prison Break to my DVD Collection. I also bought the new Trace Adkins CD "Dangerous Man"

In addition to that I bought my mom the first season of Will & Grace for Christmas.

My buddy and I were out of Best Buy by 7 am.

Then I stopped at Sheetz and ordered one of the greatest sandiwches ever--The Shmonster...It's a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich where for an extra dollar they throw one more of eveyrthing on there. By Lord, America rules. You can feel your jaw unhinge like a snake when you try to eat the thing.

Got home aroun 8 and was in bed by 8:30 sleeping until 3 pm...Then I watched some football, and went to see DeJa Vu which is either the most confusing decent movie I've ever seen, or the best crime solver movie with the worst premise...Not sure.
- posted by Brian @ 11/28/2006 02:29:00 PM

 
The Post with Kramer going nuts
Boy Michael Richards riled up a shit storm didn't he? For those that missed it. Richards performed at The Laugh Factory, got heckled and was having his act stepped over, used the n word, and issued an awkward public apology on David Letterman's show.

I've heard many thoughts on this over the week and I'd like to briefly touch on some things. Many have said they have no problem with him using the "N" word becasue the black people called him 'Cracker" back which is just as racist. No it isn't! "Nigger" is a word that was used to demean and dehumanize black people while they were whipped and treated like animals. You ever heard of "Cracker" being used in that manner? It's outright insulting to compare the two words and use that as a basis for an argument.

Furthermore white people have no basis to claim racism. Racism comes from being discriminated against-it requires a dominant power behind that. Black people are still the minority in this country so there is little means for white people to feel discriminated against Individually you could feel threatened but more white people would admit they feel threatened by the prospects of violence rather than discrimination. Racism isn't just words-it's the power behind those words. The "N" word carries that weight behind it, making it a racist word even if it comes from the mouth of someone who doesn't classify themself as a racist. If you watch the video the crowd laughs when he makes a veiled joke about lynching but shuts down the minute he uses that powerful word.

With that all being said I think the guys who were talking and heckling Richards through his set need to accept some culpability in this case. Buying a ticket (especially to a theater type show) does not give you the right to talk throughout the show. The guys even admitted they had just walked into the show and were yelling at the waitress to bring them their drinks. A little common courtesy and the whole thing never gets off the ground. The guys who were heckling should be banned from the Laugh Factory as well, but they won't be becasue now the owner would look like he is making a race based decision

I think it's horrible that Gloria Allred (sp?) has taken this opportunity to insist Richards settle to a multi-million dollar lawsuit against her clients. Why? He did nothing to cause them any kind of harm in any way. In fact, noone would have known who they were if they don't go out into the media and reveal themselves. They took this opportunity to put a face to the victim and draw money behind a facade of social outrage. I don't believe for a second they truly think they deserve a large fee in return for what was said, and Allred should be ashamed of herself for being such a spotlight whore. Then again, she has yet to miss an opportunity to put herself on the front line in the battle against America's social conscience.

Finally, Richards has appealed to the two major faces (in some eyes) of the African American community with apologies. Rev. Al Sharpton however has declined the apology despite his checkered past of tax evasion and drunken idiotic ramblings. Richards should have just apologized to the guys in question and it would've blown over, but unfortunately now it becomes a side-show where every person who has no business there tries to get time in the center ring.
- posted by Brian @ 11/27/2006 02:38:00 PM

 
The Post with an assertive statement
Despite what anyone tries to tell you....Borat is one of the funniest movies ever. This is the rare film that mixes outrageous situations with a moral center. Watching unsuspecting people squirm as this seeming foreigner fed into all their stereotypical thougths was awesome. If you're a fan of Da Ali G Show this movie will be two thumbs way way up for you.

That's my statement
- posted by Brian @ 11/13/2006 02:36:00 PM

 
The Post with me ranting about LOST
So I announced my return to the blogging world and then made you wait a little while longer before my official triumphant return. That's the way it goes I guess. But I am back with a good post so that should make up for it some.

Back in the summer of 2004 I trumpted to everyone I knew this little show I was reading about. The entertainment magazines and papers referred to it as a hybrid sci-fi-drama show with a lot of action and some comedy mixed in. One paper even called it "Gilligan's Island meets Dr. Moreau meets Jurassic Park." This peaked my interest. How could this show not be great? I did what I could to get people to buy into it and then sat down to watch the first episode hoping it would live up to its promise.

When the show started I realized this was something special. It lived up to its promise and then some. This was a show that was written by people who were extremely smart and knew what they wanted to do when they created this interlocking web of characters. The Internet was abuzz with fans trying to find as much information out about the show as they could. There were fans floating theories about the island--purgatory, Jack's imagination, science experiment are a few of the popular theories. It was a true phenomenon, that people were hooked on.

Now here we are about to end the first mini part of Season 3 and I've heard nothing but complaints. At least 10 people have complained to me over the past 3 weeks about LOST. They aren't revealing anything, the new characters are stupid, things don't make sense are a few of the things I've heard. To those people I say quit trying to ruin my enjoyment of this show.

Here's the thing-since day 1 this show has been the same. They've carefully pulled away layers of the picture and revealed things slowly but surely. Do you have as many answers as you'd like? Probably not, but that's not a bad thing. It's become a big problem anymore in our country with people increasingly thinking they need instant gratification. Things shouldn't work like that. The creators of LOST have said they want the viewers to earn knowledge and answers on the show. That might seem a little elitist but what they're trying to say is-"We're going to give you enough clues to the point where we think you'll be able to figure things out. At that point we'll reach teh conclusion." Is that really too much to ask? Does nobody have patience anymore?

To give up on the new characters after maybe 3 combined minutes of screen time in two epsiodes is ridiculous. Has this show not taught you anything? People are there for a reason. Something tells me we're going to get a flashback to a time where we were on the island but focusing on other characters. What did the people in the background see over the previous 40 days that the main guys missed? People complained for months and over a year about the lack of characters and then when they get two introduced they say, "Make them go away." Christ people be patient. Something tells me old Nikki and Paulo will be important.

As far as the not revealing anything--are you people even watching the show? Just last season they told us before the summer we'd know 1.) What happens when you don't push the button? and 2.) What made the plane go down? We got answers to both those questions-so the writers and creators are being honest with the fans. This year they have given us some new mysteries to chew upon but they've also brought back some old friends and given us more clues to the island.

-We now know why there were polar bears on the island.
-The smoke monster is capable of murdering someone and (this is only my speculation) is capable of manifesting itself into human form
-We now know where the Others live
-We also know how they've been able to sneak up on people on water. (I also assume there is some kind of tunnel system undergroudn allowing them to sneak up on people on land)
-We know who Kate chooses between Jack and Sawyer
-If Henry is to be believed we also know there are two islands (I think one of two things here...either the islands are connected by a strip of land or the whole snow globe thing is true and what Sawyer was really looking at was a mirrored image of the island he was standing on.)

So saying they haven't given us anything is completely untrue.

There are so many things too that have yet to be uncovered. Why don't The Others leave? What happened to the Dharma Initiative? Can the outside world find the island? Did Michael and Walt really go home? All these questions and more are yet to come but you need to be patient.

The main reason I won't quit on this show is the fact that it challenges its viewers. LOST requires you to have an outside basis of knowledge to really enjoy this show. People hunt down the book mentions and compare notes trying to figure out some thread of knowledge they can build a theory around. Seriously is any show that has people hunting down Richard Admas Watership Down or Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend not worth the time. How many of you know anything about Greek mythology and can see the significance of naming one of the stations for Dhamra The Hydra. Seriously people a little knowledge will help you in life.

If you want your storylines to be quick and having the depth of puddle watch a soap opera or the show opposite LOST on CBS Criminal Minds. As far as I'm concerned I'm gonna continue jumping in the deep end with LOST and challenging myself to swim with them. Even if that means I need to wait 12 weeks after tonight's episode for my next wave of clues
- posted by Brian @ 11/08/2006 12:48:00 PM