John in KC

My way late Top Ten Flick Picks 2011

2012-01-19T00:30:00.000-06:00

I'm a slacker...my Top Ten films of 2011 list is way behind. If your looking for music, head to Lost in Reviews. Odd I post that since I don't think I've ever covered a lick of music here, but I digress. I finally had to come to terms and complete my top ten almost by accident. I finally had a chance to sync up with Shannon and Nat and get a recording of the Almost Locals Only podcast in. The podcast which had seemingly been left for dead, but is obviously not. It's much like a reanimated monster from a horror film. The heart of which is seemingly beginning to beat once again. Hard to believe I've been doing that for three years now along with this writing thing. Tonights Top Ten films of 2011 recording marked the third year running the three of us have shared our thoughts on our top picks. I should warn you that the blurbs included with this post were nothing more than my notes for the podcast. I didn't really feel like editing them or adding anything to them beyond what I had when I dove into the podcast. I did cover a few items not in these notes on the podcast. Further for Shannon's and Nat's list be sure to give it a listen once I get the edit done, or cheat and read the show notes to spoil it all and make me sad that I spend hours editing the podcast into a decent product only to have the seemingly loyal audience of 25 or so give it a listen. If your one of those said listeners I truly and deeply love you. Thanks for listening to me these last several years.

Wow, had I started back to school three years back I'd now be looking at getting a degree. As Toupee would say "what is my life?"

Enough of the personal bull shit I hear you saying, just give us JohninKC's top ten flick picks of 2011 you goofy bastard. Okay here you go, most mainstreamers won't like this. The art house crowd will say I'm to mainstream and my family will continue to think I'm so out of touch with reality as judged by these flick picks I'll still be surprised when they continue to claim me and say they love me. Let me know what you think of the picks and what yours were in the comments.

1. Drive

I've not gotten a sensation like I did while watching drive in a theater in a long time. Nicolas Winding Refn in his American film debut nocks it out of the park with an equal parts cool, visual and on the back of Ryan Goslings performance as the muted Driver made a film that will be a guaranteed cult icon in the years to come after being mostly ignored in theaters after a studio seemed stumped on how to market the film.

2. Martha Marcy May Marlene

This film capped off a triple feature "Fucked up Film fest" which also featured "The Skin I Live In" Friday and "I Melt With You" on Saturday. Thus by the time I walked out of the theater after this film I left feeling like a member of the cult the film features. This is one of those films, while not a outright horror film ultimately feels like one as a creeping since of dread washes over you while viewing the film. Featuring an outstanding breakout performance from Elizabeth Olsen and another amazing turn by the creepy and haunting John Hawkes. I've seen little mention of the fact that the film was written and directed by Sean Durkin in an outstanding first feature length film debut.

3. Shame

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) and his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) aren't bad people, they just do shameful things. You'll likely want to shower after watching this film, plan accordingly. Fassbender turns in an outstanding performance as a man who can't seemingly connect on an intimate level with women and self destructs when his sister arrives to stay with him.

4. Melancholia

Life is horrid, no one loves us, the cosmos is out to destroy us, that is if we don't self destruct first.

5. Tree of LIfe

The optimist view on life, while not easy its an amazing cosmos spanning thing that were here.

6. Bellflower

Boy meets girl, boy falls in love, girl fucks over boy and his head gets scrambled in more ways than one. Think of this as the dark, alt version of (500) Days of Summer written, directed and staring Evan Glodell who also built the bad ass car AND built the cameras and lens much of the film was shot with. This level of DIY is punk that I've not encountered in cinema in sometime.

7. 50/50

Funny yet serious and hitting all the right notes. I can't think of a better comedy/drama in a long time. This is another one that seemed to get a bit more overlooked than it deserved (or maybe thats my perception) but deserves to be seen.

8. The Girl WIth The Dragoon Tattoo

Nothing says merry christmas like anal rape! But in all seriousness having never read the book on which the film is based between viewing this and its counterpart with the Swedish version of the film which is equally excellent I now feel as if reading the book is a moot point. Though I have to conceded I don't feel like Fincher is doing much new here he still does well as he is one of the modern masters of story telling.

9. Attack the Block

A complete, and almost total surprise but coming from writer/director Joe Cornish I had a feeling something special was in this film the night I caught its world Premiere in Austin now nearly close to a year ago. I've not felt child like wonderment while watching a film since last years Scott Pilgrim at least. Which makes sense since Mr. Cornish is a good friend and frequently collaborator with Edgar Wright.

10. X-Men: First Class & Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Fast Five

For as much of my list is a downer there was a FUCKTON of fun and really damn good times to be had at a theater this year. I had to cheat and lump all of these films together as these were truly the hardest "Spohie's Choice" of the bunch of films. While none of these films do anything to push film making forward I'd be hard pressed to find a more fun time in the theater. Find a packed house, load up on the popcorn, Jr Mints and Soda and have a blast.

Flick Review: Young Adult

2011-12-15T23:42:00.000-06:00

Some times I find myself in a peculiar predicament. Such is the case with the fine new film Young Adult. Young Adult is the latest film from director Jason Reitman that re-teams him with his Academy Award winning writer Diablo Cody. Their previous hit was the critical darling turned hit with 2007’s Juno.

I really enjoyed Reitman’s last film 2009‘s Up in the Air. While I enjoyed Young Adult I can’t say I had quite the same enthusiasm for it walking out of the theater. That isn’t to say Young Adult is a bad film. Far from it, its organic and feels real. Charlize Theron is Mavis Gary. She was the hot chick in high school that would often stomp on those under her if she even gave them a second of her time. You know, the bitch everyone loved to hate. Young Adult opens with Mavis now an adult living more like one of the teenagers she writes about as the author of a popular teen literature series. Mavis spends her days eavesdropping on teenagers to use as material for her latest book while eating lunch at fast food restaurants recovering from the previous night. Those said nights typically consist of getting hammered and going home with random men. She receives an invite to one time high school boy friend Buddy Slade’s (Patrick Wilson) new born child's naming ceremony. At first she views the invite as a slight. Then she thinks its a chance to reconnect to her one time love and help him escape from the perceived domestic hell she believes he is reaching out to be saved from.

Arriving back in her hometown, which looks pretty typical for any strip mall populated modern burgh she bumps into Matt Feehauf (Patton Oswalt) at a local bar. The two strike up an unlikely friendship when Matt realizes that Mavis is completely delusional and attempts to ground her before she has a chance to make a fool of herself. What follows is about what is expected from the situation I lay before you. The biggest crime that Young Adult commits however ***********POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT********* is that of the overweight guy hooking up with the hot woman. As a chubby midwestern guy this is RARELY the norm. Hollywood please cease perpetuating the myth of the chubby and the hottie getting together (maybe I just need more therapy and self-esteem?) All that said congrats Patton Oswalt!***END POTENTIAL SPOILER***

Young Adult is one of those tricky films for me. I left feeling generally apathetic toward the movie. As a bit of a city dweller that was born and raised in the burbs that suffers a bit of the same seeming stuck in my youth fighting against all to grow up I understood some of Mavis’s motivation. It gets tricky however when the film crosses a line from it being funny and identifiable to embarrassing train wreck, friends please let me know if I ever act in such a way? Okay? Thanks. Mavis is almost redeemable and has a bit of a "come to Jesus" moment for herself. In lesser hands than those behind the camera and on screen with Theron the character could have easily spiraled out of control into caricature. I suppose credit should be given here that in the end you walk away with an ending that isn’t totally Hollywood and feels like a real natural progression for the character.

I guess if anything I do have to thank Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for producing a movie I’m not afraid to recommend to friends and family. In a year where films like Martha Marcy May Marlene, Drive, and Tree of Life are likely to end up in my top five of the year its nice to have something like Young Adult to recommend that won’t have family members thinking I’m a total pretentious film critic ass hat. So thank you Jason Rietman for continuing to make entertaining movies, and to you Diablo Cody, your show United States of Tara was taken before its time.

Flick Review: Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol

2011-12-13T23:50:00.000-06:00

Its been fifteen years since the first Mission: Impossible film, let that sink in for a moment, I know I had to. Of course this isn’t a franchise that has ever required much knowledge of the preceding films as save for all but two actors each successive film has usually brought in an entirely new cast and director. The all but seemingly left for dead franchise got a much needed shot in the arm in 2006 from then first time director J.J. Abrams. Abrams was personally picked by franchise headliner and producer Tom Cruise after a couple of directors departed the project before it had a chance to get going. Mission: Impossible III would seemingly bring the franchise back from the dead and for me it was the high watermark of the now four film series.

The Mission: Impossible series has never been strong on its actual spy merits. It usually relies on more of a Saturday morning cartoon type reveal, that is typically spoon fed to the audience. This is perhaps why previous entries in the series have all seen summer releases. The Mission: Impossible films have always felt more like the American version of the James Bond series than an adaptation of its namesake TV show that went off the air well before I was born to remember anything of. The Mission: Impossible films have always been about lots of action, lots of gadgets and many tense “WE’VE GOT TWO MINUTES MacGruber!” type moments, oh and there is usually a pretty girl both good and bad involved in the proceedings. There is nothing wrong with this. If anything it’s welcome relief from the super serious awards season fare that is available in abundance at this time of the year. Perhaps that is also why Paramount so wisely chose to release Ghost Protocol now rather than the giant action film a week summer that was the now well concluded summer. I don’t know for certain but I can say I was happy to find that Ghost Protocol is some of the most pure action fun I’ve had in a theater all year.

Ghost Protocol isn’t that different from previous entries in the series. The film opens with a mission that goes terrible awry. An agent, a near cameo performance from LOST star Josh Holloway, is gunned down and the codes he had stolen are taken by an assassin. This leads the botched missions team consisting of Jane (Paul Patton) this installments pretty face who actually offers more than that, and the returning Benji (Simon Pegg) to Ethan Hunt (Cruise) who we find locked away in a Russian prison for unknown reasons. Staging a breakout Hunt joins the group and finds out that he and the team need to steal codes from inside the Kremlin.

Said codes are need to stop a terrorist who goes by “Cobalt” the Swedish film adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’s Michael Nyqvist. Nyqvist ends up feeling underused but does what he can with what he is given to work with. Hunt and his team’s mission in the Kremlin goes about as bad, if not worse after a good portion of the Kremlin is blown up and the U.S. Government pulls the plug on the entire I.M.F., thats Impossible Mission Force in case you’ve forgotten. The explosion gets pined on Ethan which finds him being persued by the Russian equivalent of the FBI. Hunt and his team have one last shot at stoping Cobalt and through happenstance find Brandt (Jeremy Renner) a professed analyst joining their team to make four at attempting to try and stop Cobalt who envisions a nuclear war hitting the proverbial reset button on society.

From this point the film becomes a global trotting jaunt that starts off using the tallest building in the world the Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) in Dubai United Arab Emirates. This thrilling sequence that will have those that suffer from a fear of heights in an absolute panic. I state this as Ghost Protocol much like 2008’s The Dark Knight has quite a few of its action sequences filmed in IMAX. With a stunning image that fills ones entire line of site its hard not to be entirely sucked into this amazing sequence. It might easily be one of the most thrilling action sequences I’ve seen all year. It’s difficult to watch and not feel your stomach drop at least once or twice. Who needs theme parks and thrill rides when you can get this kind of excitement for half the price? Paramount, the studio behind the films release is doing something I can actually cheer the marketing department for by opening Ghost Protocol a week early in IMAX. All I can say is if you are going to go see Ghost Protocol do whatever you can to see it on the biggest possible IMAX screen near you. It’s the way it was shot for much of the film and the way it was intended to be seen. Its a kick ass thrill ride that is worth ever bit of the premium ticket price that IMAX often commands and looks absolutely stunning.

Some of this is obviously credited to director Brad Bird. That may be a name you’re not familiar with on first blush but should be. Bird comes from the world of animation and first hit my radar back in 1999 with the criminally overlooked animated film The Iron Giant. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one to take notice of Giant as Birds next release would be another excellent entry with The Incredibles (2004) at Pixar. This was followed up three years later with Ratatouille. Bird won an Academy Award for both of his Pixar features.

I give you Bird’s credentials as you feel his finger prints all over Ghost Protocol. This is a good thing. Many had concern about whether the director known in the world of animation so well could make the jump to a big budget “live action” Hollywood picture. I’m happy to say he nails it in every way possible. Ghost Protocol is one of those rare films that thanks to Simon Pegg’s comedic timing, Tom Cruise’s charisma, Paula Paton’s sass, Renner’s caginess and Bird’s rich history of being able to work in the genres of action, comedy and drama, blending them so effortlessly together that it makes Ghost Protocol one of the easiest most satisfying watches of the year. The only film I can think that is comparable was the early spring surprise of the big silly fun ride that was Fast Five.

For everything Ghost Protocol does right it comes dangerously close to flushing the whole film down the toilet in the final moments. There is a ham fisted plot point that gets far more attention than it truly deserves. Its a minor complaint but it left me so bothered that it threatened to have ruined the previous hour and forty some odd minutes I had enjoyed on the roller coaster ride that is Ghost Protocol. It’s a minor thing to be sure but one that dragged out long enough that it started to grate on my nerves. You’ll know it when you see it and I’ll be interested to find out in the comments if you felt the same.

Some wines and beers get better with age, in this case I feel it can be stated that the Mission: Impossible film series might join the beverage ranks. This is easily the best film of the series. I might argue its the most fun you can have in a theater right now. Brad Bird does fantastic work and is working with a cast that gels so well I kind of hope the franchise continues its trend of brining back cast members from previous films. I’d like to tackle another mission with this group. Whether that happens or not time shall tell. For now I’ll enjoy this satisfying ride.

Flick Review: Hugo

2011-11-23T00:10:00.001-06:00

Martin Scorsese goes to uncharted territory using a children's book as source material and shooting for the first time in 3D. Does he loose his touch making two pretty sudden shifts and changes this late in his career?

Martin Scorsese has finally done it. He found some source material that allowed him to make a film about his love of cinema and film. I think its easy to say that even passing fans of Scorsese are aware of his professed love of cinema. They may not realize that it goes as deep as it does with him however. In 1990 Scorsese found The Film Foundation whose purpose serves to avoid the type of events in Hugo from unfolding again in the real world.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ve not read Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. A quick scan on wikipedia would seemingly indicate that the film doesn’t stray to far from its “based on” material. Said material is a mix of fiction and reality. I should warn you in advance that reading much about the book can quickly spoil the film so one may one to tread lightly before seeing the film.

The movie finds Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) an orphaned boy living in a train station and winding all the clocks on a daily basis. The winding of these clocks allows Hugo to stay out of site of the the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his doberman that are eager to pickup street urchins and have them sent to the orphanage.

Hugo gets by stealing food and stealing parts from toy shop owner Georges Melies to work on the autotonoton, not sure on the spelling of that...as the book called them something slightly different it seems. The book called them automata so I’m sticking with that. Basically its a semi creepy, semi child like and sweet looking steam punk wet dream of a design robot kind of thing. Hugo’s father (Jude Law) came across the automata while helping clear out a museum. He and the boy work on it until his fathers untimely demise has Hugo going to live at the train station with his drunken uncle who quickly abandons the boy. The automata was the only thing Hugo took with him and has to remind him of his father.

Hugo steals parts to fix the automata from a toy shop located in the station owned by Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley) who catches the boy and threatens to burn his fathers notebook. The only other keepsake the boy had of his father. Flipping through the book Georges becomes visually upset by the sketches and threatens to burn the book as punishment for the boy being a thief. Its here that Hugo pleads with Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), Georges niece to keep him from burning the book. Its here a friendship is forged and some hidden realities begin to emerge that will change not only the kids lives but that of Georges as well.

Hugo marks a couple of first for director Martin Scorsese. The biggest to me is that this is the first “film”, placing that in quotes since 3D is actually digital, that the director has shot a film in 3D. I was excited to see what a master story teller and director like Scorsese would do with the latest shiny ball in Hollywoods arsenal. The results are what to me some of the best 3D I’ve seen since Avatar if not possible some of the best live action 3D I’ve seen to date.

There is a second first that also ties back to the 3D bit which I’ll come back to in a minute. This is the first, for lack of a better word, “kids” film Scorsese has made. Though I state this with a bit of a caveat. With its 127 minute run time the film feels a bit long for me as an adult. I could only imagine what it would be like to be a kid. This is certainly for the older kid set and not the young kid set. Which leads me to the 3D bit I mentioned earlier. The color pallet in use here is super saturated to the point that the film at times almost looks animated. This was likely also due to the very liberal use of CG to create the Paris of the ’30’s outside the windows of the train station.

There are elements of Hugo that I love and some that left me wanting. There is an opening shot that reminded me of the classic restaurant/steadicam scene in Goodfellas that was pretty spectacular in 3D. The film is filled with depth by way of dust particles and other elements constantly introducing depth to the scene. Its a subtle though effect thing that others should take note of as 3D seems to be something that isn’t going away any time soon.

The main problems I really had with Hugo relate to pacing. There are several times were I feel like the film could have been tightened up, without the story suffering to make for a quicker film. This may have been linked to the story somewhat as well. I got the crux of it but I seemed to miss the hook somewhere along the way to really get me in for the ride.

All in all Hugo is another safe release for the holiday and award contender season. Scorsese isn’t treading much new ground here story telling wise with the exception of throwing 3D in the mix. As an experiment with that it works. As a film and a story its good but might be a bit inaccessible to casual movie fans only tickling the fancy of the hardest of the hardcore film historians and geeks.

Flick Review: The Muppets is quite alright

2011-11-22T22:07:00.001-06:00

The Muppets much ballyhooed return has arrived...does it meet nostalgic fans expectations?

The Muppet Show went off the air in March of 1981. That would have made me about 3 months old at the time the show ceased production. Thus the earliest memories I have of The Muppets from my childhood comes by way of 1981's The Great Muppet Caper and 1984's The Muppets Take Manhattan both films that I watched quite a bit on VHS as a child. I also recall The Muppet Babies, a cartoon that ran from 1984 to 1991 and watching many an episode of that show. Thus while watching The Muppets I suffered from an odd feeling. These are all characters that I've known and grown up with in my life since my earliest memories. Though oddly this isn't exactly how I remember them.

Perhaps I've been to far removed some twenty some odd years on? The Muppets were one of those things I remember but sort of moved on from. I didn't purchase any of the movies on DVD as I got older. I pretty much avoided any of the Muppet films after the 1987 made for TV A Muppet Family Christmas which I have zero recollection of even seeing. It was "kids stuff" after all to my teenaged mind by the time 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol hit. As I've gotten older I've gotten over the "kids stuff" label and interestingly enough that is one of the very reasons Jim Henson wanted to do The Muppet Show to begin with. So does the new film written by star Jason Segel who got the go ahead after his fantastic Dracula's Lament in 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Marshall director Nicholas Stoller helping out with writing duties get it right? Yes and also yes.

There was some recent controversy leading up to the release of The Muppets coming from a source, Frank Oz. Oz of course being one of Jim Henson's right hand men and creating Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear for The Muppet Show . Oz's comments had many a fan viewing as potentially damning of The Muppets in light of them coming from the man who had worked side by side with the Muppets creator Jim Henson and created two of its most iconic characters. I'm happy to report that either I don't get where he is coming from or I've completely misunderstood which ever characters Mr. Oz claims are being done a disservice here.

The film opens with a bit of a nostalgic prologue giving us about five minutes of screen time with Walter (voiced by Peter Linz). Walter is a muppet who was seemingly born into a human family. The film waste little time dwelling on this fact showing his brother Gary (Segel) as he grows and Walter remains a short 4 foot tall or so size. Gary and Walter of course grow up watching The Muppet show with Walter in particularly feeling a strong connection with the show. Both Gary and Walter have now grown into an adult stage resembling a mixture of arrested development with a heaping dose of Smalltown naivety thanks to being raised in a small town. Gary has plans to take his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles to celebrate their anniversary. Walter excited for his brother is slightly jealous of the adventure which quickly subsides when he is invited to tag along. The three make their way to Hollywood (always love when films do this since the place actually doesn't exist) and find that the Muppet theater and Studio in a dilapidated state.

During their tour of the Muppet studios Walter breaks away from the tour to discover that Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) plans to purchase the Studio and theater from the Muppets and level them to get to the oil he can smell beneath them. This sends Walter, Gary and Mary on their way to find Kermit and talk him into saving the Muppet Theater. Many montages later, with a dozen or so excellent cameos I wouldn't dare ruin here and it comes down to the wire as to whether the reunited Muppets can save their theater and Studio.

The film introduces a couple of new characters to the mix in addition to brining back most of if not all of the old. Of course with such a huge cast of characters I'm sure fans of specific characters will feel as if some of them get short changed. The film focuses most of its time on the "core" of Kermit, Miss Piggy and Fozzie. Animal is likely the fourth most seen/active member of the bunch. If I didn't mention your favorite here its not to say they were excluded, just don't expect much screen time or action from them. Its a minor quible as this film serves as something of a reboot/re-introduction to the characters but I guess I was hoping for a bit more from some. Guess they need to save some stuff for an inevitable sequel.

I was also a bit surprised that the humans take a definite back seat to the Muppets here. Gary and Mary's relationship runs in the background as a bit of a B plot that is super obvious from the get go. Interestingly enough its often the crux for the song and dance numbers leading up to the actual restaging of The Muppet Show in the film. Those song and dance numbers end up being the most screen time we spend with humans in the film with the exception of Cooper's Tex Richman. Cooper gets a chance to show off some skills I never knew the actor possesed and has what might possibly be one of the most absurd out from nowhere scenes I've seen in a film this year.

All in all the film has massive amounts of heart and is a joy for just about any one you could show it to. The film does justice to the past of the very characters it celebrates and left me with a thirst for more. It isn't quite perfect, Disney I expect a Statler and Waldorf commentary track on a DVD/Blu-Ray release, but its enough to satisfy this fan.

Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is poised to kick your ass

2011-09-20T23:32:00.001-05:00

....and you didn't even know it.

Once and a while happy incidents occur much like this evening. While catching a screening of Moneyball (which opens Friday, a review of which will be forthcoming over on LostinReviews.com) a screening rep informed the audience prior to the screening getting under way that there would be an "eight minute sizzle reel for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." I literally about lost my shit at that moment.

Poster from http://mouth-taped-shut.com/

Reason being I know this was shown last week in larger markets and much hype was made about it. This project has been one of heightened awareness to me since it came together shortly after "that Facebook movie" The Social Network would go on to become one of the best films of the year last year. Director David Fincher taking on another picture that on the surface confused me. You see I've already seen all three films in the so called "Millennium Trilogy". I'll admit here that I'm illiterate and never read the books... Those films would be the ones made in Sweden (of broad shifts in quality and aspect ratios) and brought Noomi Rapace to American audiences. After the first film I walked out of the theater shocked, and saying that even though the books are wildly successful and popular here in the states it could never be adapted due to its content. Flash forward to Fincher coming on board and I quickly started to come around.

I had friends that carried the doubt unabated. I wouldn't budge however, Fincher is one guy that always brings his A-game. Sure Benjamin Button was a little questionable but it still worked, was beautifully shot and was enjoyable even if it was sappy as hell. Of course as well documented for anyone that knows me I'm a ~~long~~ life time fan of Nine Inch Nails and by way of that Trent Reznor. As soon as Fincher had his now Academy Award Winning composers, that'd also include frequent Reznor collaborator and band member from How To Destroy Angels Atticus Ross the pair behind the phenomenal Social Network score on board I too was blindly on board telling all the doubters that they were nuts. Then that first red band "boot leg" (which still felt like a studio plant) poped up around the release of the long forgotten The Hangover part II and the internets film fans collectively shit themselves on a Saturday afternoon when that was seemingly leashed upon the world.

This quickly put those previous doubters on notice that their fears were woefully ill-conceived. I liked the trailer, LOVED the cover of "Immigrant Song" with Karen O on vocals but wanted a bit more. The trailer is so quickly cut that if you've never read the books, or seen the Swedish versions of the films your totally clueless as to what it was that just smacked you in the face.

The "sizzle reel" I saw tonight pretty much gave me exactly what I needed. It also left my friend that was at the screening with me saying "I want to watch that now" and latter confirming they had no clue what it was really about prior to seeing the reel. For fans of the books or the Swedish films the eight minutes does a good job of digesting many of the key plot points from the story into a very quick synopsis. It does so without out getting into the finner details of things. It all looks gorgeous, which shouldn't be surprising to anyone that has ever seen any of Fincher's work.

All the actors are carrying Swedish accents which I guess I should have expected given that they've been shooting there and that is where the source material is based. What I hadn't expected was to be completely blown away by Roony Mara. As much as I was on board for Fincher doing The Girl With The Dragoon Tattoo when Mara was cast it was about the only thing that pinged my "oh shit this is going to get fucked up" metter. After getting a chance to really see her as Lisbeth in more than just a quick cut...its hard to not judge the whole thing and saw she is likely to quickly become an "it" women in Hollywood and start being attached to anything and everything that requires a strong female lead. Much like it did for Noomi Rapace.

As for the soundtrack if you've visited the official site it gives you a bit of a feel for what Reznor and Ross have been working on. I heard a cue from it and much more in the dense eight minutes. For NIN fans some of it made me think of TDS, others sounded like nothing I'd really heard from Reznor or Ross before. Needless to say, a day one purchase soundtrack purchase was only reinforced and I can't wait to hear more from the Academy Award winners.

Jesus did I really just type all of that for only eight minutes of footage? I've done less for entire films...consider the "sizzle" reel a great success, December 21 can't arrive soon enough. If you've not been keeping up http://mouth-taped-shut.com/ has all kinds of interesting stuff popping up daily.

Side personal note: I never thought I'd type "Academy Award winner Trent Reznor" in my life, further be able to say I met the guy once. What an awesome time we live in.

Flick Review: GREEN LANTERN

2011-06-16T23:41:00.001-05:00

I think its safe to say that expectations are low for the big screen adaptation of the long running DC Comic book known as GREEN LANTERN. Blame the first disappointing trailer, some poorly received early publicity stills or maybe a general lack of knowledge and interest toward the property that weighed on my mind as I sat down to watch the film. Sure the last couple of trailers which featured far more of the fantastical elements of the source materials world started to turn the tide but ultimately they really spoil all the fun in the film. Further, said fun is limited, though I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's first try and make sense of "Green Lantern's" plot and then will dive back into my thoughts on the film.

The movie opens with a voice over describing in broad terms how the Green Lantern Corps came to be. Mixed into this voice over is a mention of Parallax who was at one time the greatest threat to all the various sectors that the corps protects. The Green Lantern Corps derives their power from their ring which is powered by the color of willpower, the color green. The rings must be recharged fron the lanterns battery/power about once a day. The Corps most powerful member is Abin Sur played in the film by Temuera Morrison. Morrison whom geeks might better know as both Boba and Jango Fett from Star Wars is nearly unrecognizable save for his voice under lots of purple makeup. Albin Sur once defeated Parallax and banished him to a far off sector. Here he has been regaining his power to the point he escapes and goes on a rampage drawing his power form the fear of those that he comes across along the way. Albin Sur investigating strange occurrences encounters Parallax and is mortally wounded in the process. Sur just barely manages to escape the encounter to have his ring choose a new wearer.
Meanwhile on Earth Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a cocksure test pilot who's latest exploit has landed him on suspension from his job at Ferris Aircraft. That is also the job where he works with Carol Ferris (Blake Lively) whom he was romantically involved with at one time but is no longer. In a brief flash back we get a glimpse at to why Jordan is the man he is today and is obviously following in the footsteps of his deceased father whom still haunts Hal's thoughts from time to time. As Jordan tends to his nephews birthday party after his debriefing he is teleported away by a green orb. Landing face down in a puddle he spots Albin Sur's crashed space craft. He is told that he is chosen and given the Ring and the Lantern. Before Jordan even really gets a grasp on the situation Albin Sur is dead and surprise, surprise the government is showing up. Jordan makes a quick escape and quickly finds himself thrust into a battle he has little interest in participating in and seems very ill equipped for.

If all that seems like a bit much to take in its because it is. With a very brisk run time of 105mins "Green Lantern" is a film that crams lots of information into finite amounts of screen time. This makes the film suffer as the movie shifts from its more fantastic elements back to character and relationship building so rapidly the change can be a bit much. Further it kept making me want more of the fantastical and less of the human drama. All the back and forth also helped lead me down a path of never really caring about Hal, Carol, The Corps I could go on. There is no real emotional crutch in the film that got me to buy in the way I did with say "X-Men: First Class" and Erik's drive toward his goal before having his eyes opened to the larger world outside of his own.

I would argue that "Green Lantern" is easily the most fantastical comic book character to hit the big screen so far. With the current trend seemingly leaning more into a gritty realism first made popular by the the seeds that Sam Ramis' "Spider-Man" trilogy planted and then blossomed and fully realized by Christopher Nolan's two Batman films and maybe a touch of the two "Iron Man" films. I bring up that fantasy and reality comparison as between "Thor" and now "Green Lantern" its getting to the point where its nearly impossible to adapt the source material remaning faithful and trying to keep any semblance of reality intact. "Thor" handled this by hamming up the Earth material and the film having a certain amount of self awareness that helped with audience buy in. "Green Lantern" on the other hand never really quite reaches this level of awareness. For such a unique idea of the power ring creating constructs one would think that the films makers could really go wild. Instead what we get for one action sequence is something that could be viewed as a tie in for a long running toy car company. Additional constructs all seem clever though very obvious. I'm not sure if this was intentional story choice to show that Jordan still doesn't quite comprehend the power he wields or the story just being lazy. It ultimately also hurt the film as I was never able to quite get a feel for what it was after. Was it serious? Was it fantastic? Dramatic? It never really goes all in with anyone of those and feels like a bit of a mess as a result.

Besides the Paralax vs the Corps. angle Dr. Hector Hammond another makeup heavy performance, this one from Peter Sarsgaard is in the mix but almost feels like a bit of a throwaway. I found his character intriguing and Sarsgaard's performance interesting but I kept having this feeling that the story really didn't know what to do with him other than to give Reynolds Jordan a foil until Paralax shows up. This makes him less of a threat anytime he shows up and doesn't seem to have much to do.
Mark Strong really seems to nail the roll of Sinestro. Though he similar to Hector Hammond doesn't seem to have a whole lot to do as they pack so much into the films short run time that it feels like Strong never really gets a chance to do much.

"Green Lantern" is the first pretty big comic based misfire durring this comic film laden summer of 2011. It's films like this that make me wonder when a backlash and its subsequent box office plummet from general audiences is going to occur for comic sourced films. I'm hopping that "Green Lantern" doesn't end up being the "jump the shark" type moment for such films, and I doubt it will be but this isn't what was needed right now. It's messy and never quite feels like it knows where its going or where it wants to go. The end result is something I didn't quite hate but I'm nowhere near close to loving.

Perhaps when DC finally gets their stuff together and notices what Marvel Studios is doing they'll get more serious about their film properties and find a better balance. "Green Lantern" does little to make me think that is coming anytime soon. Hopefully Lantern will act as a wake up call and DC fans will someday see a kick ass "Justice League" film, though I wouldn't hold my breath for anything like that. "Green Lantern" just proves they have a long way to go.

I give "Green Lantern" 2 out of 5

Flick Review: MR. POPPERS PENGUINS

2011-06-16T23:41:00.000-05:00

Is it enough for a film to be carried by some heart, farts and poop jokes? Maybe, though I should also mention that said film isn't all that entertaining as said foul air and fecal filled sight gags never quite fill the air or the bowl with the proper blend to elicit laughs. This is going to be a long 95 minutes.

"Mr. Poppers Penguins" uses the 1938 book of the same name by Richard and Florence Atwater as its source material. I must have suffered from a deprived childhood as I never had the book read to me, or maybe its just that the "Bernstein Bears" were more my speed. I bring this up as comparing the plot of the film version to the book, the two sound nothing alike. The film version opens with a young boy in 1978 who goes by the call sign "tippy toe" conferring with his father (bald eagle) via ham radio. As the years progress the young Poppers father never appears. Some thirty years on we find Popper (Jim Carrey) to be a successful real estate man that has eschewed the family life to be a dedicated, and thus, per the standards for a film like this, successful business man. It all feels very formulaic early on, not surprisingly this doesn't change. With the help of his assistant Pippi (Ophelia Lovibond) he is on path to become a partner for the firm he works for. There is just one challenge the current partners of his firm place in front of him. Complete it and he becomes partner. He has a son, Billy (Maxwell Perry Cotton) and a daughter Janie (Madeline Carroll). Popper is completely out of touch with his daughter using his son to feed him information and keep him up to date. His former, I think wife, the film is never quite all the way clear on this Amanda (the always lovely Carla Gugino, "Sucker Punch") whom he is on speaking terms though obviously no longer in love usually has the kids until Popper takes them for the weekends.
One day Popper gets word that his father has passed and that he is to receive a gift. When the gift arrives Popper, which I keep calling him as it seems everyone in the film including his kids address him as such, proceeds to open a crate and find what he believes to be a stuffed penguin. Of course it isn't and it proceeds to wreek havoc in Poppers life. Before long even more penguins show up and Popper starts finding himself spending more time with his flightless friends and his kids, whom find the birds fun to be around. The formula for this setup is pretty typical and the ending to the film is pretty obvious as soon as Poppers challenge is presented to him.

Being that "Mr. Poppers Penguins" follows such well established formulas none of it ever really feels fresh. We've all been here and seen this before. Thus it hinges on its jokes. Carrey does his usual full body performance here. It has its moments but I never found myself really laughing. Further repetition really sets in as it feels like many of the same things in the film start being repeated. Thus the film never really got me engaged and I found myself wondering when it would all end.

Thankfully it would seem that director Mark Waters ("Mean Girls") has mercy on his audience and wraps things up in a pretty quick 95 minutes. Though that 95 minutes still isn't quite quick enough. When I find the opening short, "Scrat's Continental Crack-Up" more entertaining, and as I later found out recycled as it previously played in front of last years "Gulivers Travels", than the entirety of "Mr. Poppers Penguins" there is trouble. Thus save yourself 10 bucks and find the Scrat short online and mark this penguin package return to sender.

"Mr. Poppers Penguins" 1.5 out of 5

Summer 2011 Tentpole Rankings 6/10

2011-06-10T18:20:00.003-05:00

I ran my review of "Super 8" a couple of days ago since Twitter ended up pushing its release forward by a day. Will you be seeing it this weekend? Not a whole lot else to say. Competion is pretty light this weekend. Next week sees the release of "Green Lantern" and "Mr. Poppers Penguins". Kansas City also finally gets Terrence Mallick's Palme d'Or winning "The Tree of Life" opening in KC. I didn't get to screen the new art house release of the week "Midnight in Paris" which opened in KC today. I might be seeing it this weekend but it won't make the rankings since it really isn't a tent pole. That said where does "Super 8" fall on the rankings? Lets find out...
1. "X-Men: First Class"
2. "Bridesmaids
3. "Super 8"
4. "Fast FIve"
5. "Thor"
6. "Kung Fu Panda 2"
7. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
8. "The Hangover Part II"
My thoughts what are yours? Seeing any flicks at the cinema this weekend?

Flick Review: SUPER 8

2011-06-08T18:00:00.000-05:00

And its finally happened. I've finally met the first film of the tent poll laden summer of 2011 that has left me throughly mixed on my feelings toward it. Writer Director J.J. Abrams "Super 8" is a love letter to a whole handful of "Super 8" producer Steven Spielbergs' finest films. Elements of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "E.T.:The Extra-Terrestrial", and another film Spielberg wrote and Executive produced "The Goonies". All of those feel connected to "Super 8", from the era the film is set, the summer of 1979, to the group of kids the film follows to the films Sci-Fi elements. I would even argue the the film goes beyond that and is a love letter to any one that has ever had any passion for film making.

So how do you get a story out of it? Abrams has said he had a difficult time figuring out that piece of the "Super 8" puzzle when it was still an idea in his head. What he came up with is a story that revolves around Joe Lamb played by first timer Joel Courtney and his group of friends as they make a Super 8 film to submit to the states teen film competition. Their plans are interrupted as the film opens at the post funeral luncheon for Joe's mother who died at an accident at work in the small Ohio towns steel mill where she worked. It's winter and Joel and his friends break from the film until summer. Once summer arrives Joe's father, the towns deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler, TV's "Friday Night Lights") advises that he should attend a sports camp and forgo making "monster" movies with his friends that summer. That night Joe and his friends Alice (Elle Fanning), Martin (Gabriel Basso), Charles (Riley Gfiffiths), Cary (Ryan Lee), and Preston (Zach Mills) set out to shoot a new scene for the film as Alice has been cast as the wife in the film they are working on. Joe has an obvious affinity for Alice from the moment Charles mentions having cast her in his film. That night at the train station that they chose to film a train comes through the station. Using it to add "production value" to their film they roll film and shortly later catch a colossal train derailment. The kids spot some strange objects from the train scattered about and begin to suspect that the accident was anything but.

I really loved the first 45 or so minutes of "Super 8". Pretty much everything up to and durring the train wreck/derailment. Its everything after that started to pull me away from the film. The movie feels like a dual narrative feature but it really isn't. I'll just come out and say it since I would assume most every one has seen the teaser and knows that this is a creature feature. This is what detracts from it, the creature feels too shoe horned into the story. The first act of the film is spent establishing a great world and characters that I really enjoyed. Suddenly the military and the creature get thrown in and any time a scene cuts to them I feel as if I'm watching a different movie. That's not to say its a movie I didn't like it just feels very uneven. Another issue I had with the movie is the way Abrams gives everything away in about five minutes of film time. In the third act the mystery is suddenly explained in full as a way to seemingly move the story forward. It just seemed odd for Abrams, who seems to have a knack at teasing and creating mystery to just suddenly lay all the cards down on the table the way he did, I was almost a little shocked he did it. The movie besides being set in 1979 also has a nice underlying comment or two about todays hurried instant gratification lifestyle and a comical one on drug use. They are subtlety and expertly placed in Abrams script which in lesser hands would have felt like after school movie lessons. Abrams use of lens flares like it was in 2009's "Star Trek" is in use but a bit more minimally this time around, so for those of you that had those drive you nuts there you go.

The performances from all the kids in this film especially first timer Joel Courtney are outstanding. I got a real sense that this is a group of kids that have been hanging out for most their young lives. There is a good group dynamic to them that reminds me a bit of my youth. The love story between Joe and Alice comes preciously close to being syrupy sweet but is handled with a nice balance both in performance and via story and Abrams direction to avoid being sickeningly sweet. I also really liked Ryan Lee as Cary, a boy obsessed with pyrotechnics who livens up every scene he pops up in. As for the adults Kyle Chandler's obviously conflicted and detached father to Joe is well done. You get the sense that he hadn't had much an influence on his song as a younger deputy who spent more time at work and let his wife handle their son. All this is said just from his performance which to me speaks for it and toward how well its done. Character actor Noah Emmerich has a turn here as the closest thing the film gets to an antagonist as the bad guy military type and does well with it. The only other adult of note is Ron Eldard as Alice's father. He is obviously a very conflicted man with a tarnished history in the town. This leads to conflicts when his daughter and the towns deputy sheriffs son become close friends quickly.

I guess what I walked away from "Super 8" with is a story about compassion, friends, family and love. It just so happens to have an alien stuffed in it. I feel like that is cheating it a bit as the former is more imparted on me than the later but that freaky looking alien is in there like it or not.

I give "Super 8" 3.5 out of 5

Is it worth 10 bucks? Yep, "Let's all go to the movies!"

Flick Review: X-Men: First Class, and my summer movie rankings this far...

2011-06-04T17:11:00.001-05:00

"X-Men: First Class" Is my favorite comic book action film of the summer yet. See all the outs I gave myself there for other summer action films and the like? As for the review its running in full over at Lost in Reviews this week.

As an aside I've been wanting to do tent pole rankings for the loaded summer of 2011 so here it goes.

1. X-Men: First Class
2. BRIDESMAIDS
3. FAST FIVE
4. THOR
5. KUNG FU PANDA 2
6. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES
7. THE HANGOVER PART II

Those are my thoughts...yours?

Flick Review: THE HANGOVER PART II

2011-05-26T07:24:00.001-05:00

THE HANGOVER PART II is the worst kind of corporate cash grab film one is likely see the summer of 2011. More so than even "Pirates Of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides", at least there they were trying some new albeit poorly excited ideas. And I'd be willing to go ahead and wagger right now "Transformers Dark of the Moon".

In "The Hangover Part II" we find the Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Allen (Zach Galifanakis) back together again. Surprise surprise if you've seen the first Hangover you've basically seen this one. So much so the word again is used heavily in the film. Sure there are a few new jokes but most of them fall flat. Allen is being Allen. All of it really feels like nothing more than fan service. People wanted to see these guys get in to another crazy situation and they do. Not much else to say, no risk taken. I'd even argue they didn't go that much more extreme with the gross out gags. At first I thought the story written this time around by Craig Mazin (2008's Superhero Movie), Scot Armstrong (Semi-Pro) and Director Todd Phillips were being almost intentional with their copying of elements from the first. The lack of that knowing wink or nod at the camera to indicate as much however quickly proves that they simply didn't have a better idea. Rather they tweak elements from the first, slightly refresh them and go a smidgen bigger. Most of it falls very flat I laughed occasionally but it didn't last long.

Then I guess one could say stuff like this is critic proof but I'd argue that this summer has proven otherwise. "Bridesmaids" specifically comes to mind as its easily the low key contender of the summer. It will end up doing what the first Hangover did when it was released two years ago. Mainly generate a bunch of knock offs. However its leaps and bounds more clever, funny and much more rewarding than what ultimately feels like a tired regurgitation of an all too familiar trip. I guess some like consistency in their lives, if so and you liked the first Hangover then you'll probably enjoy this one just as much. If a tired retelling of a tale you've once heard before doesn't sound fun go see "Bridesmaids", and if you've already seen that go see it again rather than suffer through "The Hangover Part II".

1 out of 5

Is it worth 10 bucks? No, if you own the first on DVD watch it again instead of this.

Flick Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

2011-05-26T07:17:00.000-05:00

I have vague memories of 2008's Kung Fu Panda. I know it was the first Dreamworks Animation film I actually fully enjoyed and didn't have any major issues with, so it had that going for it. Other than that I saw it in theaters upon its release and haven't bothered to revisit it since. What does that have to do with Kung Fu Panda 2 you ask? Well not a whole lot other than to say that not a whole lot of previous knowledge is required walking into it. Sure it helps but being rather dusty I don't feel like I missed anything.

So what is going on in Kung Fu Panda 2? The film opens with a 2D animated sequence setting up the villain for the story Lord Shen, voiced by Garry Oldman. Shen is a pretty bad peacock and nails the classic animated villain mythos, that'd be scary and a constant threat. Though not so much as to send children screaming and crying out of the theater scary. When we catch up with "Dragon Master" Po, voiced again by Jack Black he and the Furious Five have seemingly gone stagnate with no new threat having come along to threaten the Valley Of Peace. This is disrupted when Shen takes down Master Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber) with a weapon that can stop Kung Fu. Before springing into action Po has been having flash backs to his youth. He questions his father Mr. Ping, a goose (James Hong) about this and finds out that he is adopted. Since its obviously over his head how a goose could give birth to a panda… Still not feeling that he has the whole story and now filled with more questions than answers he has no choice than to join the furious five as the go after Shen who might have some answers to Po's questions.

The story is written by the same duo that brought us Kung Fu Panda, that'd be Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. I can't help but wonder if that helps lend to the sense of continuity with the first film the film shares with its predecessor. I was also happy to find that the script contained an amazing amount of restraint from using Po's "skadoosh" every 30 seconds. As a matter of fact it's used once. That said the story is pretty basic stuff, its a revenge tale and not much else. With the exception of Tigress (Angelina Jolie) most of the rest of the furious five aren't given much to do this time around. Jennifer Yuh is in the directors seat. She served as a story artist on the fist film and does well in her first feature length outing. Considering how busy some of the scenes in the film get to be its handled well and never feels overly busy.

Year after year as technology progresses the animation in these CGI films gets better and better. I say with out hesitation that Kung Fu Panda 2 feels like another high water mark when it comes to the scenery. I can think of one particular shot of a boat sailing down a river that easily approached the "uncanny valley". It's a good thing these animated films continue to use anything but humans for the most part as I don't think were getting to far off from fully animated fair that is indistinguishable from reality.

In summation Kung Fu Panda 2 much like the first is a winner. I was worried about this film when it was first announced considering Dreamworks Animations track record with sequelitis. Happily some pretty decent effort went into it and is entertaining enough for adults and kids thanks to its quick 90 minute run time to work. Out of the two number twos entering the box office race on Memorial Day weekend in the states this is the easy winner by a mile and not just a cheap zero effort cash grab like the other, which I'll concede is after a FAR different audience.

3 out of 5

Is it worth 10 bucks? The normal rating system I use here is put to the test on this. If your an adult with no kids? No its redbox or netflix time! If you do have kids then I'll concede its worth taking them to if they dug the first one.

Flick Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Suckier Tides

2011-05-19T22:13:00.000-05:00

I'll state upfront that I am an unapologetic fan of the first three POTC films. That is to say I love them warts and all from 2003's surprise Curse of the Black Peral all the way through the stinger after the credits in 2007's At Worlds End. When the third film finished with a tease of the ongoing adventures of the role that is now synonymous with Johnny Deep as Captain Jack Sparrow I thought that surely it would just be that...a tease. I figured it'd be left to fan fiction, or perhaps a Disney cartoon, ride, pick any synergized under the sun component at the mouse houes it has at its disposal. A small part of me wanted to continue watching the on screen adventures but I questioned if it would really be possible to continue and capture the magic and adventure the first three films contained and worked for on a level with me.

Turns out I wouldn't wait long for an answer as rumors quickly began swirling that the mouse house was moving ahead with a forth film. Further word was that the fourth film could potentially be the start of yet another POTC trilogy. By 2009 I was cautiously optimistic and excited, things were falling into place. First Johnny Depp was returning along with Geoffery Rush, who's Captian Barbossa I always preferred just a bit to Depp's Sparow or at least a fun paring of the two. Second the writers of the first trilogy Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were signed to be back on board, though to some this could be seen as neither a plus nor minus. Of course super producer Jerry Bruckheimer was also part of the equation. The one lingering question was wether or not director of the first three Gore Verbinski would return. Before long I'd have my answer (he wouldn't) and shortly after that POTC "4" had been given a sub title, "On Stranger Tides" which borrowed, and as the credits state was "suggested by" a book by Tim Powers. Said book is a pirate fantasy/fiction tale published in 1987. The book had its share of fans including the game designer of the Monkey Island point and click adventure games of the nineties that I was a fan of.

Thus my hype level was building, all was in fact falling into place and the ship that is POTC seemed to be on the right heading. With the announcement that Rob Marshall (2009's Nine, Academy Award nominated director of Chicago) was announced as director I breathed a slight sigh of relief. Marshall hasn't really done anything groundbreaking but I at least found Chicago fun. After the long slog of anticipation and a disappointing trailer or two the film has finally arrived. Suffice it to say it's been a long while since I walked out of a film with such conflicting emotions. All the moments are there to make this feel like a POTC film but it feels like a pale shadow when placed amongst the first three. First and foremost this is Depp's chance to shine as Sparrow since he takes lead now that Orlando Blooms Will Turner and Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann characters are out of the way. Something it seems the general populace wants but I'm not sure they understood why Sparrow worked so effectively in the first three films. Unfortunately the fears I had from Dead Man's Chest which had plenty of solo Sparrow time that I found dull were not a mistaken feeling. Too much of a good thing as they say and that is the case here. It isn't a fault with Depp's performance he is doing the same thing he's done before, Its just that Sparrow's mannerisms, witty commentary and flying by the seat of his pants but acting like he knows what he is doing gets to be too much to carry the film. In the previous films Sparrow would pop up to break up the proceedings and make it fun. Here its a nonstop assault and it gets to be too much.

The story also suffers from lots of exposition explaining character and story impacting events rather than showing them. This just feels lazy and like fan disservice. This film could have easily had an epic opening that is ultimately left to nothing more than several lines of dialog and leaves the opening a lame setup for some characters that appear a total of three times in the film and have all of maybe 20 minutes of screen time. What the hell? This was the franchise that once had the kraken take down an entire ship. A franchise that had freakish pirates that were have sea creature half human. None of that is on display here. Further what kind of a pirates film doesn't have at least one epic battle at sea? Nearly all of the time in this film that involves action is set on land. Further the opening action scene never feels that intense or threatening. Lastly Blackbeard (Ian McShane) who is setup as the villain never feels like a threat. Further I never felt any sort of peril for any of the characters.

So after ranting and raving for three paragraphs about how much I didn't like the film I guess I should explain the basic plot. The film opens finding Sparrow same as we found him at the end of At Worlds End. That would be ship less yet again, further Barbossa has lost a leg and the Pearl. Some one has been going around impersonating Sparrow. Turns out said impostor Sparrow is a women he once used, Angelica (Penelope Cruz) who just happens to also be the daughter of Blackbeard (Ian McShane) the Captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge which he seemingly controls with some mystical power granted by his sword. Angelica has been recruiting pirates as Sparrow to lure them onboard the Queen Anne's Revenge as it is one of the most feared ships on the sea. Sparrow ultimately finds himself on board Blackbeards ship as Blackbeard, Barbossa and some Spaniards all race toward the fountain of youth. Some mermaids get mixed in as a mermaid's tear is required to activate the power of the fountain. Again how huntitng a mermaid ends up being a largely land based operation is beyond me. The way its explained away just feels like a cheap point.

I could go on for several more paragraphs about my problems with the film but I don't feel I'm really going to gain anything. There are several cool ideas at play in the story they are just poorly executed. It's unfortunate that this might be a kick off to a new trilogy. As from film one I'm not sure if I have any interest in seeing additional tales with this new and old crew.

Pirates of the Cairibean: On Stranger Tides
1.5 out of 5

Worth ~~$10~~ $16 bucks? Nope, this film can't be saved, but might (highly unlikely) be a drunken cult classic one day.

Worth seeing in 3D? Well I will give it that it was in fact shot in 3D. That said I never really feel like it added anything to the precedings. Thus if you like 3D go for it, if your not a fan then obviously steer clear as this doesn't break any ground that hasn't already been covered in 3D.

Movie Review: The Adjustment Bureau

2011-03-04T07:57:00.000-06:00

The Adjustment Bureau is a feature length film very loosely based off the Phillip K. Dick short story "adjustment team." I'll get out of the way right now that I've never read "adjustment team". Based on what I am able to ascertain form wikipedia however saying that The Adjustment Bureau is loosely based is very accurate.

The Adjustment Bureau is a romantic thriller with some very loose elements of Sci-Fi thrown in that place the question of free will at hand. Matt Damon stars as a young NY senator whose frat boy like past always catches up with him at the most inopportune times and cost him an election. Emily Blunt is a dancer that Damon happens to cross paths with as he preps his concession speech in the mens room. The two strike up a conversation and Damon's character finds himself smitten. A second chance encounter after the senator goes off the rails after the chance encounter in his concession speech only serves to solidify the "women of his dreams" feelings that Damon can't shake.

There is only one problem to all of this. Watching all the activity go on is a group of mysterious men that all wear hats and suits. Damon's second encounter was truly a chance event after Harry Mitchell (The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie) falls asleep and doesn't prevent the second meeting from occurring. This causes Damon to arrive at the office on time and catch the team making an adjustment to those there in a world that had been seemingly paused. Captured by the team and told what is going on he is advised to never see the girl again or else both their fates could suffer or at worst Damon could have his brain estentially reset making him seem like a crazy person.

The Adjustment Bureau creates an interesting and rich world with out much depth. It feels like just the surface is scratched of the much larger world it could possibly contain as the story strictly follows Damon's struggle to be with the women he loves. Some light explanation is given but those looking for an explanation will be left wanting.

The casting is well done featuring Mad Men's John Slatttery, the mentioned Mackie and Terence Stamp as members of the Bureau in the title. Damon and Blunt also share very convincing chemistry that had the viewer not been sold on would have instantly derailed the entire film. I overall enjoyed The Adjustment Bureau but found some of the artistic choices it made a bit odd. For example toward the beging of act three he movie abandons use of an orchestral score for the odd inclusion of a rock music piece during a chase scene. Yes it worked but it felt a little jarring and out of place. The choice to limit the story to Damon's and Blunt's characters was something that also left me with mixed feelings. The idea that are setup up in the films story leave me wanting more and questioning about things that are often discussed on screen but never shown. Sure its sequel fodder but I just don't see a film like this getting a sequel to explore the larger story I feel it could richly contain.

All that said I don't think it could get much better as far as romantic thrillers go. Men and the ladies will find things they enjoy in The Adjustment Bureau which seems to do a good job of being a crowd pleaser. Its far from being a perfect film but there are plenty worse.

The Adjustment Bureau 3.5 out of 5
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image

Is it worth 10 bucks?
Nope, its Netflix or Redbox time kids!

Movie Review: Rango

2011-03-03T20:31:00.000-06:00

In Rango we find a normal household lizard that fancies himself many things and lives in a world of illusion hes created for himself. That world stocked with a girlfriend, a half naked doll with one arm and no head, a best friend, that also plays his foil in a wind up gold fish toy. If you've seen the poster or some of the various trailers for Rango you've seen this fish and lastly a plastic tropical island setting where he enjoys drinks with little umbrellas in them. Before Rango knows it, who is voiced by Johnny Depp, his whole world is thrown into upheaval after his tank is accidentally thrown out of the car its traveling in, to the tune of Ave Maria the first of what felt to me a couple of homages to Merrie Melodies in the film and finds himself stranded in the desert with out water.

From here Rango is told about the "Spirit of the West" and goes about trying to survive the harsh climate of the desert before finding himself in the town of Dirt. In Dirt water is currency and its scarcity is driving the town toward panic. Its here that Rango realizes, and seizes the opportunity to become a whole new lizard in a town stuffed with colorful critters. Based on the outlandish tale he weaves to the local saloon patrons that leaves them dazzled with the stranger, and followed by a bit of luck Rango is soon thrust into a situation where he finds himself in over his head but miraculously keeps lucking out and having things go in his favor.

Verbinski shot the actors live.

Rango has a strong lineage with the original three Pirates of the Caribbean films. For those that don't listen to the Almost Locals Only podcast I am a huge fan of, warts and all, and often profess my closeted love for. I bring this up as Rango is directed by Gore Verbinski who directed the first three Pirates films. As a fun fact Verbinski chose to take on Rango thinking it would be a smaller easier production to handle after spending quite a bit of time, big budgets, and globe trotting the Pirates films required. He has since state that he quickly found that this was a false assumption. As a bit of interesting background Depp and other actors were actually filmed on makeshift sets in costume so that the animators would have reference to their performance. This goes above and beyond the usual facial recordings for mannerisms used in other animation to help capture the actors character performance. Verbinski also shares a story credit with another Pirates Alum James Ward Byrkit. John Logan gets a story credit in addition to being credited with the screenplay. Looking at Logans previous screenplay credits which include The Last Samuri and Gladiator it becomes somewhat obvious where the elements of the existential crisis that Rango suffers from through out the film likely come from. Other Pirates alums are included in the cast, Johnny Depp obviously. Depp's voice work is well done, though obviously Depp. I don't feel that he stretched much here. No faults with his performance its just that his voice is easily recognizable. Early thoughts were that he was playing a version of Hunter S. Thompson for kids based on early stills and trailers for the film. I personally didn't feel that was the case but I did like some of the subversive blink, or tune out for a second and you'll miss them subversive moments sprinkled throughout the film. Another Pirates alum pops up in the cast is another favorite actor of mine Bill Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake. Nighy had I not known he was doing voice work in the film I may not have even noticed as he plays the intimidating snake with a gating gun tail.

Besides the previous mention of the throw back to Merrie Melodies, Rango feels like an homage to the long lost spaghetti westerns. There is a point in the film where it can't help itself and makes it very obvious with the appearance of one of its icons. Rango ultimately however ends up feeling like a dull film at times. For being animated which for better or worse automatically labels it a kids or family flick in some viewers eyes it feels overly long occasionally and could have stood to be tightened up.

Rango is noteworthy outside its star studded cast and its director. The film marks the first time that the arguably best visual effects house in the world Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) has animated a film. Before Rango I wouldn't have hesitated to cite Pixar as the golden standard of animation in the computer animated dominated world of today. If Rango is any indicator however Pixar should be on notice as Rango is stunningly gorgeous throughout. There are several landscape scenes in the film that approach if not arguably cross the "uncanny valley" as I sat in the theater looking at the screen and wondering if some of the backgrounds had been shot on live film. Had it not been for the critter creatures running around I may not have known it was all zeroes and ones that resulted in the image being presented.

So March kicks off with a solid though mildly flawed entry with Rango. It has its moments story wise, and it is easily the prettiest thing that has graced the screens in the past couple of months. These two things however do not a complete film make. In the moments that Rango lags it feels drawn out and gets boring. Unfortunately it feels like those moments are more often than the ones that should make you forget about them and left me feeling indifferent toward the film. This is unfortunate as with the players involved this was an easy opportunity to knock it out of the park only to be sold short by a story that goes on just a bit to long.

Rango 3.5 out of a possible 5
Rated PG for rude humor, language, action and smoking

Is it worth 10 bucks?
Nope, its Netflix or Redbox time kids!

Liam Neeson completes his english Trilogy of Taken and Chloe with UNKNOWN

2011-02-17T23:47:00.001-06:00

Being that I like the freedoms that running reviews on my site here affords me I thought I would take a slightly different than usual approach to my review for the new Liam Nesson staring action/thriller opening this weekend UNKNOWN. What follows is a chat transcript I had with a co-worker regarding the film. If you want my more formal thoughts on it I will be discussing it on the next Almost Locals Only podcast which you can find at either LostinReviews.com or FrothyGirlz.com sometime in the next week.

12:54:14 PM: Miss Dreams of Liam: how was Unknown?
John Coovert: meh
MDOL: was liam neeson dreamy ?
MDOL: cause that's usually the reason i go :-P
JC: it was entertaining but nothing great. Excessively long for what it was.
MDOL: figures
JC: he is all right, HE IS SO IN LOVE with that bitch January Jones
MDOL: ugh
MDOL: that's annoying
JC: She always plays a bitch...srsly
MDOL: i've never seen her in ANYTHING
JC: And IRL she comes across as totally vacant
MDOL: IRL?
JC: in real life
JC: what the hell is up with me?
MDOL: oh yes i agree ... she does seem vacant
JC: But there is a double dose of hoties in the flick for dudes
MDOL: double dose? jones and ...
JC: Diane Kruger
JC: from “Inglorious Basterds”
MDOL: ... the chick that owns the movie theater?
JC: yep
JC: hahahahahhaha GIANT FACE
JC: burn Nazis
MDOL: i loved her!
MDOL: nah-zis, john nahzis
JC: oh yeah
JC: kel-ing nah-zis
JC: i did like one twist the flick took however.
JC: hey Can I use this for my review? I want to be lazy...
MDOL: go for it
JC: sweet
MDOL: what are you using ?
JC: most of this?
MDOL: lol go for it!
JC: From the top...
MDOL: about nah-zis?
JC: all of THIS
JC: even my poor use of Facebook speak
1:00:53 PM: JC: So the movie opens and Dreamy Neeson is all goggly eyed in love with January Jones
MDOL: k.
JC: this is something reenforced quit frequently, driven home by the awkward steamy shower seen at the mid point of the flick...
MDOL: ew...
JC: yeah, it went on a bit to long. But its PG-13 so only teases of boobies
MDOL: lol
JC: Oh wait I was wrong
JC: the girl from Basterds was the OTHER one
MDOL: the other one?
JC: yeah Bridget von Hammersmark
JC: I think she was the actress? In the movie
JC: how meta...or what ever the cool internet kids say?
MDOL: ooh! that's right
JC: So Dreamy Neeson hops in her cab and throws cash at her (like a peeler) to go after his missing luggage.
JC: I'm leaving spelling errors in...(ed check...I didn’t, this was sloppy enough as is...)
1:05:30 PM: JC: next thing you know boom accident and Dreamy (Nesson) goes to McDream land, finally wakes up and its all tilt camera angle, WHY DOESN'T ANYONE KNOW ME time.
MDOL: so, Flight Plan
MDOL: I'm the only one that knows the truth and obviously I'm not crazy.. so it's a conspiracy kinda thing ?
JC: kind of but the guy that "replaced" him, dude knows all kinds of things about him. LIKE EVERYTHING! Queue Twilight Zone Theme
MDOL: odd.
JC: I was thinking maybe it'd go SyFy (that is how they are spelling it now right?) and be like Multiverse...but it missed the mark and didn't. :-(
MDOL: so excluding the fact that his replacement knew way too much about Neeson where was no sci-fi element (I'm not ready to commit to SyFy yet)
JC: none at all...but there is a plot device I did dig.
JC: Eventually he has a total recall moment.
JC: but I'm skipping lots. There are TONS of red herrings in the flick. Of course they never go anywhere. Oh and some might view that it has a very small semi political message buried in it.
MDOL: political how?
JC: Like we should feed the world kind of thing, an anti capitalist message.
MDOL: SERIOUSLY! Starving children in Africa message?
MDOL: odd
JC: well not necessarily being America, this all happens in Germany after all. The movie should be rated M for heavy use of old Mercedes Benz(es).
JC: Yeah...."the message" was really wedged in at the end.
MDOL: wait, was Neeson German?
JC: Nope American
JC: and I would spoil if I said to terribly much more...
MDOL: alright. I got scared for a second.
MDOL: Well, you aren't exactly selling it.
JC: yeah its overall pretty "meh" as they say.
JC: it does have some neat action pieces.
JC: Some of it reminds me of "Taken" which is superior to this in my mind.
MDOL: He kills everyone in "Taken"
JC: Which leaves me wondering, HOW WILL HE FINISH THE TRILOGY?
JC: We have the Verb (TAKEN), Adjective (UNKNOWN), down, what is number three?!?
MDOL: Well, there was Chloe... noun?
JC: eh, but was there action in it? I didn't see it. I thought it was only known for that Amanda girl getting all naked with Julian Moore?
JC: Which why haven't I seen it in that case?
MDOL: ha ha ha
MDOL: It's suspense. Think Fatal Attraction / The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
JC: but in my defense I saw the original French film that Chloe was based on...
JC: ah well that might be it then.
MDOL: Well, aren't you snazzy.
JC: I try to be.
JC: So in closing even though I didn't sell it well I would still give UNKNOWN a three out of 5 but for me it's more of a Netflix/Redbox kind of night movie.

The Green Hornet: "I'm emotionally confused right now"

2011-01-14T08:08:00.000-06:00

Hollywood is running out of ideas. This isn't some grand revelation or news to anyone. Sequels to films that came out twenty years ago, remakes, reimagings...seems on any given weekend at the cinema one can encounter a film that falls into one of these categories. The quality of these can go from the high side, The recent suburb Cohen brothers take on True Grit comes to mind. Others total dreck, show of hands for how many of us have claimed that Director/Writer X has "raped" our childhood for their latest abortion of a "sequel" to a cherished from childhood 'classic'. Heck, it become such a common phrase that the summer after that one sequel which shall not be named a South Park episode was dedicated to the term.

This all brings me to the latest entry in the school of recycle something old in hopes of making it new/relaunching a franchise again. The latest entry? The Green Hornet staring Seth Rogen gets its roots from a 1936 radio show that would later expand to theater shorts, comic books, and most notably the television show that ran for a year 1966-1967. All these things being well before my time on this mortal coil I walked into Hornet with no preconceived notions of what to expect, thus saving the few cherished film childhood memories from any further molesting for the evening. At least something was safe...

The Green Hornet establishes its story as rapidly as one of the AK47s that one of the baddies wields on screen spits bullets. If you enter into The Green Hornet hopping for some rich back story or driving motivation for Seth Rogens portrayal of Britt Reid/The Green Hornet prepare to be disappointed. This is one of those films that is so eager to get our main characters into their situation, and thus the costumes, and arguably one of the highlights of the film, The Black Beauty, that the story acts as a second thought taking a back seat in the beautiful automobile that spends much time on screen. The stories sole purpose is that it exist to quickly get us to the meat, read action set pieces, of the film. Though I guess that is what a film like The Green Hornet is about? I guess, but in the age of higher standards (The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2) for such fair this sort of thing is getting harder to get away with.

It's tricky to say the least. It's fair to say that a serious film this is not. It's goofy and fun at times though this is also its Achilles heel. For as much as some of the laughs work, much of it falls flat and feels as if its really reaching to get a chuckle with absurdities. Further Rogens character Britt Reid isn't all that redeeming of a person. He comes off for most of the film as a self indulgent pompous ass that gets difficult to get behind, like and ultimately cheer for. Perhaps that is intentional being that the Green Hornet is neither friend, nor foe to the public. Ultimately it left me uncaring toward his motivation and basically the core of the film.

Further I felt as if Britt and Katos relationship was as undercooked and as underserved as a frozen pizza from an easy bake oven. Kato relative unknown to American audiences Jay Chou in a solid first mainstream outing, was James Reids (Tom Wilkinson) mechanic and Britts head coffe maker until Britt fired him only to bring him back. Chou seems to have fun with the material he is given to work with but the chemistry between he and Rogen never really clicked for me. It always felt disjointed even if that was the point of the story which is never really clear. The two obviously need each other in the void left by Britts father but

This brings me to last years Academy Award winning Christoph Waltz. After Waltz chilling turn as "The Jew Hunter" Col. Hans Landa in last years Inglourious Basterds the fan boy community was whipped into a froth when he was cast as the head bad guy Chudnofsky. It seems he has fun with his rol but Col. Landa this is not. Cameron Diaz also shows up to add a little bit of female presence, and the only brains to the film.

So the story is pretty pointless, the characters half baked. The last thing I had hung on hope to was Michel Gondry being behind the lens as the director. Gondry, not quite a household name but one that many an Indie/art house fan would instantly recognize from 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or 2008's Be Kind Rewind. Gondry was arguably the biggest wild card that The Green Hornet had going for it. There were several moments throughout The Green Hornet that felt like Gondry's work. The first night out for the duo springs to mind. Another segment comes late in the third act of the film that is signature Gondry. For those few moments however do not a film make and the rest of the film felt as if any off the shelf action director could have directed the film.

So far I've been awfully hard on The Green Hornet though the film isn't a total disaster. Some of the jokes that work, work very well. I found myself laughing quite a bit especially at an early cameo. Also as I alluded to earlier being an ocasional gear head just about everything, as preposterous as some of it was, with The Black Beauty (the Hornets equivalent of the Batmobile) was fun and occasionally thrilling. The only problem with this is that the sum of these few scattershot parts do not a whole make. Ultimately The Green Hornet was a brief welcome respite from all the heavy emotional fair that is typical heavily loaded at the theater around this Oscar season but not enough to truly stand out as anything special.

Worth $10 Bucks?: It's Netflix or Redbox time Kids!
Worth the 3D?: No, its a post conversion job. While well done I will rally against this process until it ceases to be relavent.

Rating 2 out of 5

Flick Review: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS - Part 1

2010-11-19T00:00:00.001-06:00

I'm going to guess that those that don't know me personally are in for a shock when I share the following. Until the critics screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - part 1 I had until that point in time never seen or read a single piece of the Potter series. Becoming the old man that I am I kind of missed the whole pop culture boat for the phenomenon that would become Harry Potter. You see I'm not that avid of a reader and when the first film came out in 2001 I was somewhat jaded toward it due to the overwhelming hype it received prior to and after its release. I was still in my semi rebellious stage that once I drew a stance against something I was over it. It also didn't help that in that same year the first Lord of the Rings film was set for release nearly a month to the day after the first of the Potter films. Since I've never been fall over in love with the fantasy genre it would prove to be a double whammy I just stood against.

So onward to the review. I suspect this is one of the few if not possibly the only reviews around from the prospective of one who until the final film, well two since the final book has been split into two flicks, has zero experience with what came before. So should any one else be reading this from my same situation let me say right off the bat that you will not be totally lost watching this film. In the interest of full disclosure I've done some light reading on Wikipedia as to the various goings on of the Potter series so I had an extremely loose idea about the setup. It's worth noting that the film waste no time with any kind of opening "catch-up" style montage. You better be up to speed from last summers Half Blood Prince as the film seems like it picks up directly after the events of that film. In less than fifteen minutes magic potions, giant people eating snakes and dragons already get involved and people and creatures start dying.

I was fairly aware that the Potter series had treaded into dark territory, and even as a non fan these early deaths are intense stuff to have happen so quickly out of the gates. Especially for what I've mistakenly perceived to be a "kids film." The setup is basic good vs evil type stuff, thus leading to a fairly accessible film for the first time visitor to the world of Potter. I'm sure there was some added depth and minutia I may have missed out on but it's not a crazy elaborate setup. There were little things like "muggles" and "mudbloods" which I didn't quit understand other than to pick up that the evil faction didn't like either of them and more or less thought of them to be eradicated, I was kind of picking up on a whole World War II Allied vs Nazis vibe though I may have been putting a bit to much into that.

Deathly Hollows is a good flick overall, the production values and effects are all top notch and as good as they get in cinemas right now. It features a mostly British cast (for obvious reasons) so all the performances are as top shelf as they come, I'm always a sucker for Bill Nighy. Really as a first timer I was enjoying everything until the trio of Potter, Hermione, and Ron (seriously? Ron?) make their way to the woods. It's here I was thrown into tedium as the film for the next twenty or so minutes turned into "we know what we've got to do but are clueless as how to do it!" type scenes. Several riddles and clues later the film final ramps back up and starts charging toward a pretty emotionally charged scene toward the end of part one. Not being familiar with the source material they handled the ending superbly. It gives you just enough to guarantee that you will be lining up around midnight on July 14, 2011 for the July 15 release of Deathly Hollows Part 2 and not groaning and leaving unsatisfied with it. As a first timer its sold me on the series and I'm looking forward to digging through the previous six films to get caught up and add what I surely suspect to be additional levels of enjoyment, and in some cases loss which I may have thought nothing of initially.

Unlike the Twilight series it's nice to see for what all intents and purposes seems to be such a quality story handled as eloquently and treated with the right amount of respect in its transition from the page to the screen.

Flick Review: Megamind

2010-11-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

Dreamworks Animation rarely impresses me to the levels of which the now golden standard Pixar has. Sure there is the occasional exception, those two being Kung-Fu Panda, and earlier this year the very solid and welcome surprise of How to Train Your Dragon. I also dug the homage elements heavily used in Monsters Vs. Aliens but felt it didn't diverge enough from the typical Dreamworks Animation story standards to stand out. It's frustrating as an animation fan to see Dreamworks Animation become a McDonalds like factory of CGI animation. Churning out an average of two films per year their quantity over quality stance really shows when comparing the qualities of their films against Pixar.

It's the minor animation details, this is nothing against the artist at Dreamworks Animation, their films are very pretty. They just seem to lack the added depth that other studios, which I will forego naming at this point seem to infuse every shot of their films with. Of course to non animation fans or those with only a feigned interest in what ends up on screen this is something that probably gets a somewhat understandable pass. Though I would urge any one reading this to do a head to head comparison sometime. The effort and care that goes into it is noticeable, you may not visually see it but your mind picks up on it.

Another fault with Dreamworks Animations output is the sicking level of serviceability. All their stories feel more or less interchangeable with similar vague outlines of characters making it easy to plug in any manor of insect, plant, human, animal etc... Many of their stories feel as if three to four characters, settings, situations etc... are tossed into a hat, drawn at random, and then a computer spits out a story to mesh it all together. On top of all these they always have some name star doing the voice work for the characters. This is seemingly done wether they would seem to be a natural fit to the character or not. Some find it easy to get over an actor they know doing the voice work in a film, some see said film knowing the name behind the voice. I'm sure there are others that fall into any manor of such situations in between the two mentioned here. It's just something I prefer not know, or spend fifteen minutes watching the film now disconnected from it trying to figure out. Some times name and face recognition is too heavily associated with one another to really get the separation needed to be able to take. Worse you begin associating the actor more with the character than their actual intent. Yes, I've done this for better or worse and I did it while watching Megamind. I'll take David Cross in the role of Minion for $500 Alex, oh and note this is the second animated film using Minion as a character name this year. Dreamworks Animations studios, it's like Madlibs for films! The downtrodden coming of age story about___________who is overlooked by the__________. BUT! if they get the__________from the_____________and become the____________of_________all is saved and they become what they wanted to be all along!!

So it's with this in mind I bring word that Megamind falls squarely into the forget it column of Dreamworks Animations output. It uses all manor of star names, none other than Brad Pitt, and Tina Fye both of whom I typically love though question what attracted them to this. Will Ferrell is also along for the ride, actually he stars here if you could call it that. If you've yet to grow tired of his shtick, which personally I'm still on the fence of. I don't loathe him the way some on the interwebs seem to though I'm not automatically sold every time I see him attached to something either. In Megamind he is playing that typically Ferrell character that is more Land of the Lost than the better work he seems to do for Adam McKay. David Cross as I mentioned earlier continues his "I've got to eat" rolls like the one we saw him in the Chipmunk films as Ferrell's Minion. I was fairly harsh toward Cross for his turn in the Squeakquel last winter. I'd be tempted to do the same here if his summer release of his recent stand up tour Bigger and Blacker wasn't so damn hilarious and still made me laugh on easily my thirtieth or so listen to it. Also along for the ride is Jonah HIll.

See lots of star power the way Dreamworks Animation likes it and pushes it. Some of the first things I remember about Megamind was that Will Ferrell was in it as a blue guy with a big head, nothing about Megamind seems a little backward no? I really don't have much more to say here about Megamind. Same as Dreamworks Animation is the McDonalds of CGI animation those going into it know what they are in for, no surprises here. It's kind of like the Monsters Vs. Aliens though with superheros and villains subbing in for uh, monsters and aliens. I didn't think I would loathe this film as much as I did had it just taken a few chances which it never does, then again the story never even presents an opportunity to go off the well traversed safe path. It was as predictable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

I give Megamind 1 out of 5

Flick Review: Due Date

2010-11-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

I liked this flick better when it was called Planes, Trains & Automobiles. I'm not even quite sure where I should begin on the problems I have with Due Date. On a curious surface glance Due Date should be a sure fire thing. Stars Robert Downy Jr and Zach Galifianakis are usually pretty solid leads that take good care of which projects they attach themselves to. Both also being "it" men in demand in Hollywood. Director Todd Phillips is fresh off his surprise hit of last summer, and also Galifianakis arguable breakthrough performance in The Hangover. Due Date also has a pretty solid support cast behind the two star beaming leads.

Due Date finds Downys Peter Highman partnered with Galifianakis Ethan Tremblay after an unlikely meeting at the airport leads to another wacky mishap. Said mishap ultimately lands Peter and Ethan on a federal no fly list leaving them both grounded with a shared destination. With Peters wife set to have labor induced on Friday he finds himself needing to get from Atlanta to Los Angeles by the following Friday to be there for the birth of his first child. Since his wallet was left on the plane long departed for LA he finds himself stuck with Ethan as his only means of getting to LA in time.

Due Date attempts to differentiate its self from the typical odd couple/buddy road trip films by going for over the top, quirky/awkward and the occasional gross out humor. While some of the jokes stick the landing I found the majority of the jokes falling flat if falling at all. I also didn't get any real sense of chemistry between RDJ and Galifianakis at any. I'll grant you that at a point in the film, maybe all of it they aren't meant to be buddies but the relationship just didn't work which I felt hurt some of the comedic timing. Many of the situations in the movie also escalate to the realm of the absurd quickly leaping over the line of suspension of disbelief films like these require.

So I guess really my fault lies with the script for the film. The performances from all involved are fine, they do the best they can with the lackluster material they are given. That said I still wonder what attracted RDJ and Galifianakis to this project. Being that these two actors have their choice of projects they can align themselves with I wonder what, where, when, how things seemingly diverged from what they signed up for and what ended up on screen. Same goes for director Todd Phillips, though his filmography is a bit more checkered than that of RDJ and Galifianakis. Phillips shares writing credit here with a committee of three others, something I should note made me feel uneasy when I caught it in the opening credits.

It turkey month here in the states, and opening it is a fully cooked one of mediocrity from a group I expected much better things from.

I give Due Date the rarely used "EPIC FAIL"

Flick Review: Paranormal Activity 2

2010-10-23T13:31:00.015-05:00

Last year audiences were captured by the less is more, seen though not heard, micro budget film Paranormal Activity. It was a film that had shuffled around for years and had an ending change after a suggestion of no other than Steven Spielberg. The film went on, once the movie going public had “Demand It” to become a massive success for the studio that picked it up and a welcome reprieve from the seemingly never ending onslaught of yearly releases of the growing long in the tooth “torture porn” Saw Franchise.

A sequel was a forgone conclusion. Only question I had was how? Paranormal Activity falling into the “found footage” genre that it comes from was a self contained film. Little if anything was really left to have a sequel of any real substance come out of it. This of course is the horror genre were discussing here so silly me for not thinking that those creative geniuses in Hollywood would find a clever way to return to the well again and see if they could manage to make lighting strike twice.

Some may consider the following a spoiler so feel free to skip the following text and continue reading after the bolded end spoiler: Paranormal Activity 2 runs a bit before and concurrently with the events in Paranormal Activity. End potential spoiler. Opening with a family of four returning home from the hospital after the birth of their son we are shown fifteen or so minutes of footage of various family going ons. No timeline is clearly established but its obvious this is over a year or so time span as the baby definitely ages with each of this quick glimpses we get as the family unit is setup. Eventually the family goes on a vacation to return home and find the place completely ransacked.

Enter the very convenient security camera installation that will give viewers a whole house to experience rather than just the bedroom of the first film. This leads to more spooky unexplained things occurring all over the place. Paranormal Activity 2 does a good job of maintaining the less seen and only heard freak outs, creep outs and chills of the first film, it may even do them a step better. There was a particularly good practical effect in broad day light that worked well. It was also a welcome relief that your not stuck with another film only watching and in several instances waiting for something to go bump in the night. Things also feel a bit more organic this time around rather than having a boyfriend that seems from the school of D-Bag forcing things along.

The demon in this installment also seems to have been given a bit of a presence through a low frequency sound effect I don’t recall the first film having. This becomes handy with the multiple settings of the house since you may not always be aware that you should be looking for something or drawing your focus to a particular area of the screen.

Paranormal Activity 2 isn’t without its faults however. Pranormal Activity is a series, I hesitate to call it a franchise quite yet, whose major conceit is built on a foundation of less is more. Much of Paranormal Activity 2 s moments of story building revolve around explaining more background to the events going on in this and even the first film. When a creep show is built on such a less is more approach it ultimately results in taking the great fear of the unknown more out of the equation since there is now a story explaining it’s origins in place.

Paranormal Activity 2 works as a sequel to Paranormal Activity. If you enjoyed the first film you’ll enjoy the second as it serves up heaping doses of good fan service. The unnerving chills of the first one carry over to the second. Wether you find it’s creeps, thrills, and chills as good as those in the first I’m not quite sure. They were effective in the theater though I didn’t find my self having as difficult a time sleeping after this round like I may have had on the first.

I give Paranormal Activity 2 2.5 “toy locomotives” out of a possible 5

Flick Review: Hereafter

2010-10-22T00:00:00.001-05:00

Another awards season equates to another Clint Eastwood directed film hitting theaters. After last years middling hope/sports filed Invictus, Eastwood returns this year with death and the afterlife on it's mind in Hereafter.

Hereafter opens an amazingly dramatic doom and gloom tsunami in an unnamed island locale. This is ripped right from the school of Roland Emmerich 2012 type imagery. French reporter Marie LeLay (Cecile De France) and her producer Didler (Thierry Neuvic) on what is their last day at a beautiful sea side resort awake as if it's any other day. Before long Marie finds her self running for her life from the on coming onslaught of the ocean. Getting caught up it isn't long before she gets brutally knocked on the head. Experiencing what is most often called a near death experience she manages to survive.

I should just get out of the way here now that Hereafter takes a bold route of setting out to support three separate, though related narratives as we follow Marie (France), George (Damon), and Marcus (George and Frankie Mclaren) as they each deal with in their respective order a near death experience, being cursed as a psychic, and wanting that final good bye. It's after Maries opening that we are introduced to George Lonegan (Matt Damon). George used to make a living off of being a psychic. He was on TV had his own website before letting it all go in an attempt to live a normal life. Georges brother Billy (Jay Mohr) is always waiting for his brother to return to the trade in search of a quick way to make some easy money. It seems their is no shortage of those looking for one last chance to talk to loved ones that have shuffled off this mortal coil.

We get a quick taste of Georges talent for one of his brothers friends it's obvious that he is the real deal telling the man things that only he and his deceased wife would know. Here we jump over to Europe and are introduced to Marcus and Jason. Marcus and Jason are twin bothers with hearts of gold and a junkie absent mother. Spending their own savings on a picture of themselves to give to their mother for a birthday present, Jason the older by 12 minutes seems to be just a little bit better of the two. To soon is Jason taken from Marcus and his mum Jackie after he is harassed out into the street and hit by a truck.

It’s at this point we follow each of the narratives as the pad them out a bit. Marie returning to work to soon, obviously still in a state of shock and dealing with the effects of her experience. George attempting to lead a normal life and potentially find a girlfriend. It’s on this story that the beautiful though annoying Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) shows up and annoys the heck out of you until she makes a rather unceremonious exit from the film after being exposed to Georges special hand holding talent. The solemn Marcus as he is ripped away from his junkie mother and turned over to a foster family.

It’s during all of this that ultimately started to pull me out of Hereafter. The film gets somber and doesn’t ever really delve into the depths of these characters. I understood their motivation but it all results in mopping around. Marie’s story is the most interesting as she seeks out the truth about life after death and the conflict of religion and science. The problem is that she writes a book about it and the story by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) never gets into the nitty gritty of it. It just glances across the surface and never gets into the argument in anyway. As for George and Marcus much soul searching takes place between the two as they both seem to be searching for the way forward based on where they find themselves.

Ultimately all three main characters cross paths. It isn’t completely ridiculous when they met but the pay off just wasn’t quite there for me after the long slog we see each of them endure to arrive at these places. It’s a melodramatic sappy ending that tugs at heart strings that I felt was empty and cheap, not to mention a sloppy wrap up after failing to really address anything that the movie set out to do.

Eastwood is more than capable of directing great films. However this makes two years in a row where I ultimately left the theater wanting and expecting more.

I give Hereafter 2 “I Saw it on the internet so it must be true!” out of 5

Mindless Comedy Weekend 2: Jackass 3D

2010-10-15T17:33:00.000-05:00

The Second flick vying for your funny bone and movie going dollar is the third installment to the very prestigious Jackass series, now a trilogy with Jackass 3D.

I wasn’t sure if the Jackass boys had anything left in them. Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Jason Acuna (Weeman), Ryan Dunn, and Preston Lacy all make their return to the big screen punishing and embarrassing themselves for your enjoyment.

I was surprised to see how much older, and in Knoxville and Steve-O’s case how together the crew seemed considering how out of the way they usually go to punish themselves. Add on top of that some of the off screen personal problems they’ve all experienced. Seems a couple of them have gone the sober route while the others have continued the party. To be sure, even though some have chosen the clean path they are just as crazy as ever.

Jackass 3D clocks in at a quick 94mins but even at that feels about 20-30 minutes to long. After about the first hour the stunts start to get a bit repetitive and as such become devoid of the humor or shock factor the first hour effortlessly sustains.

The film shot primarily in native 3D adds an interesting depth to the stunts performed. The aerial stuff in particular seemed to benefit the most. Oddly enough, the quality can jump around a bit as some sources used to film certain elements weren’t quite as good as the primary stuff and also not in 3D. This is a minor complaint and does little to detract from ones enjoyment of the film.

In closing depending on the strength of ones stomach it may be advisable to avoid eating prior to, or during a viewing of Jackass 3D. While I like to refer to my stomach as the “cast iron gut” there are several scenes that could test those with a much more delicate gag reflex.

The only question I have coming out of Jackass 3D is where do we go from here? 4D with smells included?!? I think that might just put me over the edge in trems of gag reflex. I wasn't sure if Jackass 3D would have enough new in a world of would be Jackasses on Youtube but the group manages to pull it off.

I give Jackass 3D 3 “bowels of dildos” out of 5

Mindless Comedy Weekend 1: Red

2010-10-15T17:29:00.000-05:00

Two very different comedies after arguably two different audiences open at the cinema this weekend. First up is the comic, sorry graphic novel based Bruce Willis staring RED. RED, which stands for Retired Extremely Dangerous follows an aging star studded cast including John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, and Helen Mirren as their former FBI Black Ops days come back to haunt them as an unknown shadowy figure begins pulling strings to see them each taken out. “Getting the band back together” the old black ops friends gang up to get to the bottom of the why and find out the who along the way in a surprise cast member that wasn’t advertised at all in any publicity leading up to the films release and one I will not spoil here. Only hint I’ll offer is that they fit into the aging movie star category, and made a cameo in Prianha 3D

RED arrives as the latest on the very busy heap of group over the top action films that seem to be showing up in theaters every couple of months this year. So far as I can recall it started with The Losers, followed by the enjoyable A-Team, and in August we were graced with the much anticipated, though pretty generic Expendables. Red shares lots of common traits with all of those previous films. We have a group of elite killers that always seem to find themselves in highly unlikely situations pulling off things they seemingly shouldn’t be able to do, nor any mere mortal.

I knew I was in for 111 minutes for over the top action and violence when within the first fifteen minutes. It was here where easily a thousand blanks were expended into a home in a way that would make any cartoon proud. From this point the film takes on a certain travel element as the viewer is bounced from Cleveland to Kansas City, to New Orelans, New York, Virginia, Chicago, eventually I gave up keeping track of where our heroes were. Along each stop one of Frank’s former colleagues is picked up and added to the fray. In a few instances said fellow colleagues also parish, such as life on the run for former black ops agents. On the run with his crush Sarah (Mary-Louis Parker) pulled into the mess she knows next to nothing about what is going on and who Frank really is.

Red is ridiculous and over the top, though fails to really add anything to the crowded elite force out for revenge fair that has been crowding theaters this year. The jokes hit and miss and don’t come quite often enough. There are no glaring flaws with Red and it doesn’t overstay its welcome it just left me feeling indifference. All in all it falls into line with another DC Comics based property The Losers and The A-Team as far as entertainment level.

I give Red 2.5 “gooey fillings” out of 5

Flick Review: F*** Yeah finally! They call him Machete...

2010-09-03T00:12:00.001-05:00

I loved 2007’s Grindhouse. I was one of few based on it’s box office performance. One of the bonuses of seeing Grindhouse in theaters, which has still yet to properly arrive on DVD and Blu-Ray, though being corrected on October 5, were the fake trailers before Planet Terror and Death Proof. One of those trailers, and a stand out was for a film called Machete. “He knows the score, He gets the women and he kills the bad guys.” Yes purist I know that the Machete trailer curiously was included on the full cut of Planet Terror when released on DVD/Blu-Ray while all the other Grindhouse trailers were left to be hunted down by bootleg on Youtube. While I was immediately ready to sit down for second helping of Grindhouse featuring a pair of the “fakes” having gone real I began to get a bit concerned the further time marched on from Grindhouse's release and it’s studio performance disappointment that the reality of it would ever come to fruition. I held out hope dutifully purchasing my Thanksgiving shirt at Hot Topic in addition to the individual releases of Planet Terror and Death Proof on DVD biding time.

While none of the other fake trailers are any where close to getting made, to my surprise about a year ago as if overnight Planet Terror/Machete trailer director Robert Rodriquez suddenly announced that Machete would begin production within days and announced an unbelievable no way in hell cast. That cast includes none other than Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriquez, Lindsay Lohan, and “introducing” Don Johnson. Of course most of the cast from the trailer was carrying over as well with Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin and of course the titular Machete himself Danny Trejo. Trejo, is one of those guys that close observers of film will know by name recognition. Trejo works his ass off and even those that aren’t close observers will have the “oh that guy” character actor moment once they see him.

Danny Trejo is Machete

All this news on the surface was very exciting to my Grindhouse loving heart. Then my "fanboi" side woke up and slammed on the brakes. Planet Terror had a good cast with quite a few B and character actors but nothing the likes (seemingly) of what had been cast for Machete. Had they lost touch with what Machete (the fake trailer) seemed to be all about? Then another drop of panic sweat formed on my brow. How in the hell will they ever come even close to capturing the excitement and ridiculousness of the “fake” trailer in Grindhouse? How will they be able to make any kind of film that contains all the beats from the trailer I so dearly loved and make sure they didn’t feel shoe horned into the film? My faith was further tested when the first green band trailer appeared and left me feeling indifferent if not on the edge of disapointed. Later a red band trailer would restore some faith though I still had as they say such doubt.

Oh me of little faith. I am happy to say that Machete more than lived up to my expectations. The opening scene before the credits alone immediately disarmed my cynicism and allowed me to breath a heavy sigh of relief. That’s not to say it’s perfect or that it even met every expectation that I had but it comes damn close.

I’m going to diverge from my typical style to address a few things in a quick easy succession.

Loved!!!

Rodriquez and crew have completely nailed the tone of the film. Being that I had (for worse I feel anymore) high preconceived notions in my mind of what Machete needed to be it nails it. They’ve effectively found a way to get all the beats from the “fake” trailer into the film without feeling forced, though I would argue the mother daughter scene skirts precariously close to feeling forced it works.

It isn’t “Rated X” as once claimed but like fellow release Piranha 3D easily falls into the I’m surprised the walked away with an R rating award. The more I think about it do the smart thing and create your own Grindhouse style double feature seeing Machete and Piranha 3D back to back. They combined are the perfect cap to an otherwise middling summer.

The apathetic me...

The background story that fleshes out Machete is startling current. It revolves around the immigration debate. I can easily see this film making some that wear their politics on their sleeve pumping a fist in the air with a healthy hell yeah. Others will be reaching for their lame ass Tenets of the Tea Party and have Fox news bitching about the film. Which oddly Fox is the studio distributing the flick. Yes I know the studio and Fox News are two separate things, but both still fall under the same guy at the end of the day. I guess I don’t know why I always overlooked it in the fake trailer as the seedlings of this story are in there but I always liked the basic setup of “setup double crossed and left for dead” with no additional substance sprinkled in. Guess I at times am just a simpleton like that. It didn't bother me but is the crux of the whole film.

The Meh...

So the tone is fine but the tempo can be a bit erratic. The film starts out nice quick and tight. By it's mid point however Machete could have benefited from some of those handy “missing reel” type scenes used in Grindhouse. Toward the latter half of the second act it feels like the wind falls out of the sails as the pacing slows down into the third act before ramping up for the finale.

Once said finale finally arrives it’s welcome though again feels like a mess compared to the early tight, quick nature of the first half of the film. I was also disappointed by what I felt was an anti-climax of the final battle.

So Directors Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriquez pulled it off. If you were a fan of the Grindhouse experience this is an easy recommend and a perfect segue toward Halloween and the on coming wave of higher brow fare that will soon be upon us with fall. Thanks Machete for putting the perfect end on an otherwise middling summer.

I give Machete 4 out of 5

Flick Review: Going the Distance

2010-09-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

Perhaps I’ve had my head buried in the sand for the better part of my life but as of late it seems that the more male centric romantic comedy has become in vogue. What evidence do I have to suggest as much? Oddly two of my favorite films of the (now) past two summers. First I offer up 2009‘s (500) Days of Summer. It’s the first film that springs to mind as one that more than others made me realize that there are romantic comedies of the guy/dude kind. One could also argue that my favorite film of summer 2010 Scott Pilgrim Vs The World was another rom com of the guy/dude kind. So is the one time black list screenplay now raunchy rom com Going the Distance live up to those standards for the “generation of men raised by women?” well a little yes and no.

Going the Distance plays like a rom com of the dude/guy kind in the early goings. It’s raunchy taking full advantage of it’s R rating. There is time spent more in bars with Garett (I’m a Mac...err Justin Long) and his buddies Dan, a hilarious turn by Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day and Box, Overland Park, KS native and current SNL cast member Jason Sudeikis. The guys come across as a natural organic group of friends that have all been hanging out for quite a long time. Further, Dan is Garett’s would be “hookup” DJ and roommate. The group has an organic sense of history seemingly having seen each other go through various relationship situations over the years. They all come across as contemporary dudes that don’t go through much effort for a night out for beers. As it would happen we join them on the same evening of a not so heart breaking breakup for Long’s Garett.

It turns out that the high score on the Centipede machine at the dudes local haunt is held by (shock and gasp) Erin (Drew Barrymore). She is currently in New York completing an internship at a newspaper for the summer. As fate would have it Long’s Garett has been trying to beat Erin’s high score being a bit of a Centipede ace himself who also just so happens to also work in a rapidly dying crap band record industry/label. As fate would not so shockingly have it the two hit it off and fall for each other pretty quickly. Though therein lines the problem. Summer is ending and thus Erin’s internship. Once it ends in six weeks she moves back out west to go back to school.

As if the title wasn’t already obvious a long distance relationship ensues along with all the trappings that such would constitute. It’s here where the film diverges from being the guy/dude style rom com and falls into more of the typical “awwww” heart string pulling moments, and those jealousy and misunderstanding type shenanigans that is common for this type of outing. It looses a minor bit of the edge that it starts out with and borders on becoming another run of the mil affair.

It’s saved however by the chemistry between Long and Barrymore. The two of them gel very well on screen as a couple. The film is also served well by a strong backing comedic cast. Besides The hilarious, scene chewing Day and the ‘stach rocking Sudeikis as Long’s on screen buddies Christina Applegate and Jim Gaffigan play Barrymore’s concerned dry humping sister and brother in law.

Going the Distance doesn’t quite live up to the guy/dude rom com standard set by counterparts. It however gets the pass thanks to it’s very contemporary feeling and some solid comedy from it’s cast. That contemporary turn could also hurt it as I don’t see this film aging well. I have a feeling it’s going to feel quite dated in ten years. Unlike a generational film like Scott Pilgrim Vs the World will just be a quirky period piece about life in the aughts as two lovers in dying industries try to find their way forward in life.

I give Going the Distance 3 out of 5

This week in KC theaters...and a mini Scott Pilgrim Vs The World review

2010-08-13T16:59:00.004-05:00

The movie to see this weekend. Maybe the best of the summer?

Here is a quick run down of what’s new(ish) in theaters in KC this weekend.

For mainstream fare much ballyhooed and hyped Sly Stallone and every other action hero film star from each decade since the eighties starrer The Expendables opens this weekend. It wasn’t screened for me or any one else on the podcast but we will be seeing it this weekend and discussing it during Monday’s recording.

Also opening is Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love.

The mainstream winner of the week and worth your price of admission is Scott Pilgrim vs The World. I love this film more than just about any other this summer. It’s sheer fun and joy to me for it’s entire hour and fifty seven minute run time. Many are saying that those right at and under the age of thirty will “get it” while the older crowd will be completely lost. Reviews for the most part are trending that way as well. I would argue that point however and highly recommend giving it a shot. Director Edgar Wright whose limited directorial output thus far has been the hilarious Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz in addition to the stellar fake trailer in 2007’s Grindhouse for Don’t. Between this and Inception it’s a tough call for my favorite film of the summer of 2010. It is also receiving my second Five out of Five rating. I’m sure I’ll have more to cover about it during Monday’s podcast recording as I have already seen the film one and a half times* and plan to see it at least once more before the weekend is out.

For the art house fare this weekend Cropsey continues at the Crown Center Screenland. I’ve heard mixed to positive things so I may check it out. A restored version of Red Shoes opens at the Glenwood Arts for a limited run. The Trent Reznor approved which by default makes it a must see for me Countdown to Zero opens at the Tivoli this weekend.

What if anything are you planing on seeing?

Movie Review: The Disappearance of Alice Creed

2010-08-06T18:19:00.001-05:00

Not since 1998's arguable(?) cult classic Wild Things have I encountered a film with so many twist. Not only that but each is cleverly hiding just below the surface that once they happen I found myself questioning why didn't, I...or did I see it coming? It's also a pretty bleak and stark thriller with a pervasive tension as the lone three actors in the film portray characters that had me questioning each ones motives with each cross.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed opens on two ex-cons going very deliberately about their preparations to abduct the titular Alice Creed. There focus is laser sharp, to the point that not a line of dialog is muttered until the order to commit the abduction is given, after that is even less dialog. I would venture a guess that the first fifteen minutes or so of the film only feature that one utterance.

What plays out following the abduction is a series of twist that soon ensue which makes you question the characters through out the film at each turn. Love and money are two powerful things that can seemingly easily sway one even after being crossed or tormented, or not. That's part of what makes The Disappearance of Alice Creed so engaging is that it never real broadcast even up to the last moment what is going to happen next. It plays every thing pretty forward until an unexpected twist that introduces a whole new element to the plot that keeps it seemingly escalating. Little if any time is really given to Alice's background. You have to final tuned in as this is a film where not a line of dialog goes to waste. Lines that at one time may have seem to been just a minor note can take on a whole new level of meaning by the end of the film.

This is also why to me it plays like a fine drama stage play. Being that it primarily takes place in a single, well prepared for an abduction flat with just the three actors. I was especially surprised by Gemma Artertons turn as Alice. American audiences probably best know her from two of this summers more dreadful in Clash of the Titans and Prince Of Persia the Sands of Time. Obviously taking the "you do the blockbuster to make money, and then the art house passion project" motto to heart shows some acting chops here I didn't think she was capable of. I was happy to see she is more than just another pretty face in what is a bold move for the actress and I hope to see more of this in her future. Of course I have a feeling the type of audience that would see either Clash or Persia aren't the type to seek something like this out, which is a shame.

As for her co-stars Martin Compston, whom so far as I can tell I hadn't seen in anything prior while perusing his IMDB page, gives a great turn as a young, very confused, and mis directed ex-con Danny. Little is given about Danny's background but he obviously still has many layers of issues he is trying to work out in more way than one. Eddie Marsans (Sherlock Holmes) Vic was the more mature seemingly in control Vic. All the players seem to make the most out of the script from writer director J Blakeson.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed was a welcome respite from the typical, now winding down summer of 2010 fare.

Four out of Five

Note: I'll also be discussing this along with the weeks other release The Other Guys on this weeks Almost Locals Only Podcast over at Lost in Reviews sometime Monday or Sunday.

Quick Flick Review: Dinner for Schmucks

2010-07-30T02:28:00.000-05:00

Something new I will be doing on weeks that I manage to record and publish the podcast over on Lost in Reviews and Frothy Girlz is a quick condensed review on that weeks release(s) that is discussed on the podcast. Thus if you would rather not hear us talk about it you can read my quick take here.

It's funny, and yes I laughed pretty heartily several times but does that make a good film? Eh, no. I am as conflicted by Dinner for Schmucks as Paul Rudd's character Tim finds himself at odds many times over in the film with his unlikely "friend" Barry, Despicable Me's Steve Carell. Dinner for Schmucks seems to fall into that same similar rut many other films of the summer of 2010's middling fare has. The highlights aren't enough to sustain the overly long film that clocks in at a hearty near two hour run time.

At it's core Schmuck's it's more romantic comedy disguised as another Judd Apatow produced frat pack flick, which it's not. And to be clear, Apatow had no involvement here. Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers) is in the directors seat. I struggle to recommend Dinner for Schmucks with Despicable Me still in theaters, that film is more family friendly, trim, and enduring than Schmucks. Schmucks PG-13 rating is a pretty raunchy one. So much so that I wasn't aware that it wasn't rated R until Jeff pointed out this fact on the podcast. The young ones or those with delicate sensibilities may want to look elsewhere. Having said that the jokes in this are some of the best of the summer on a pure mindless face palm simple level. Which ultimately brings me back to my conflict with Dinner for Schmucks it works as mindless summer fun for laughs but not a whole lot else. Seeing it is the equivalent of eating or drinking something you know you shouldn't but do any way.

I give Dinner for Schmucks 3 "this wasn't produced by Judd Apatow but maybe should have been(s)" out of 5

Movie Review: Salt (Or as I call it Salt: Love Conquers All)

2010-07-23T00:00:00.002-05:00

I’m officially ready to declare Salt is the greatest the B movie of the summer. More on that in a moment, first a minor observation and rant. I guess I hadn’t realized that this was the summer in which big 80’s over the top action would return and be en vogue again. How could I, a child of the eighties had been so blind to this fact? Uh, welcome back old friend? It’s like that high school friend who was cool to hang with back in the day. Then somewhere along the way you just kind of drift away from them. Well, now thanks to Facebook they are back, haven’t changed and want to hang just like the old times as if nothing has changed. Except that whole ten year gap where we went our separate ways and uh changed. So welcome back more serious than you have any right to be over the top action films! Your big budget ways are welcome in these lean economic times!

While Hollywood has been having fun with action eighties in it’s T-Toped Camaro blaring the finest hits of bands like Ratt, WhiteSnake, and The Bullet Boys lets also dig out another eighties device. The big evil red communist Russians! They seem to have become a reoccurring baddie across a couple of different entertainment mediums this past year. In film production on a remake of that cult classic communist scare film Red Dawn which is stuck somewhere in post production land. Last years biggest video game Modern Warfare 2 pulls out the big red threat. Just seems that the old red threat is still potentially there as if we are still living in the Cold War. Just a less publicized under the radar, darker, scarier, fingers are on the hair triggers waiting to twitch time world.

I state all this as this is exactly what Salt is. The Philip Noyce (Bone Collector) directed film starring Angelina Jolie is packed with all the over the top action your large drink and popcorn combo from the concession stand can handle. Though that is ultimately the fault I have with the film, until I learned to stop worrying and love it for what it is.

First lets get into the basic setup. Salt opens with a punch to the gut as Jolie’s Evelyn Salt is being interrogated in a North Korean prison. Seems she found her self on the wrong side of the border at some point. It happens to petroleum VP’s I guess...except she’s no petroleum company VP! She’s a CIA agent! So yeah trailer already lets you in on this little fact. From here I must wade into a bit of spoiler territory so if you wish to remain pure to Salt may be best to skip ahead. Don’t worry your little head, I’ll mark where it’s safe to read again.

I am a childhood trained cold blooded Russian Assassin

*WARNING BEGINNING MINOR SPOILERS DON’T READ THIS IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN PURE FOR Salt*
So here is the setup I loved about Salt. Queue Grindhouse trailer movie guy voice...Raised as killer spy children in Russia kissing the masters ring, orphaned out to parents oblivious to their background in the UNITED STATES. Ticking commie red time bombs waiting for....DAY X to arrive and take America down. SALT!
*END SPOILER(S?)*

Once I embraced this about Salt and it’s incessant stream of over the top action pieces I enjoyed it, though not on the level I feel the film makers intended. I just kept thinking of that line from the Machete trailer “setup double crossed, and left for dead...” When I did that I got over that unnerving feeling of anxiety and learned to love Salt. Which brings me to something else about the film. It really should have been subtitled as follows SALT: Love Conquers All. Without getting into spoiler territory lets just say that Spiderman, no not that Spider-Man, shows up as a love interest. Turns out true love can truly set one free from the evil oppressed commie indoctrinated shackles your former ring kissing ways can create.

I really don’t have much more to say about Salt. I’ll leave with this, there was a scene that made me write in my notes “POINT BREAK THROWBACK YEAH!!! MOVIE IS GOING OFF!!!” If that and fondness of the eighties action films and baddies are your cup of tea then by all means run to the theater to see Salt. If your like me and have changed a bit, learn to get over yourself, see the true magic of the film and just keep thinking...”setup, double crossed, and left for dead...” and laugh.

Movie Review: Inception

2010-07-16T11:08:00.006-05:00

Lot's has already been written about Inception. The major outlets and cool kids on the coast were freed from their embargo's not to mention had a chance to see the film back on July 5. I'm not sure I really have much to add to what has already been near universal praise of the film but here I go...

Inception is the latest film from writer and director Christoper Nolan. How his isn't a house hold name by now is beyond me. Name a couple of the films, 2000s Memento first springs to mind as it loudly announced his arrival if you were smart enough to seek it out. Obviously saying The Dark Knight (2008) would probably make most any one nod their head in acknowledgement of whom you are talking about. Nolan has continually stepped up his game from film to film. I'll admit I was a bit worried with 2002s Insomnia but that wasn't his original material.

Which brings us to Inception. Being an original work information about the film leading up to it's release has been sparse. Having now seen the film I feel this was for the better these days of being able to know everything due to the internet. I feel that any film is better the less you know going in, helps maintain surprises. With Inception this holds especial true. Attempting to squish the complex layers of Inception into a paragraph or two simply isn't doing the film justice.

Just the other day I was lamenting after seeing Micmacs that the magic of movies has seemingly been lost. Due to CGI anything is possible, coupled with the fact that you know it's CGI takes the thrill and the wow, how did they do that(?) factor out of the movie going experience. Well, I was in for a surprise with Inception. Considering its pedigree I must confess that I had fairly high expectations and hopes. So did it pay off?

The cast plays like a who's who for those that pay attention to film. To those that don't obsess over film you'll recognize most the faces but won't be able to name them. Leonardo DiCaprio leads as Cobb. It's tricky to describe the characters without giving anything away so I'm going to avoid doing such. I'll just say that this is easily one of Leo's best performances. Maybe the best? Nolan pulled a performance out of the actor like I hadn't seen in a while, he even surpasses his solid turn in this years Shutter Island dramatically.

This is actually closer to an ensamble as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy and Marion Cotillard share nearly equal screen time. Each of them give solid performances without a weak link in sight.

The story, it's high tension and starts off in a full speed sprint that nearly feels unrelenting for it's 148 minute run time. You must be actively engaged with the film to be fully rewarded in the viewing experience. Similar to 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, there is deeper context to what is seen should you look for it. It's a bit complex and if you miss something one could easily be lost. Thankfully they do cover things enough to keep the waters from getting too muddied. This is a film that easily commands and I have a feeling rewards repeat viewings.

The hotel fight scene. As I alluded to earlier I feel as if some of the magic of movies has been lost the older I get and the more prevalent CGI becomes. All that said I haven't been wowed by a sequence in a film like the hotel fight since possibly The Matrix and it's bullet time effect. I was gobsmacked several times by the entire sequence. I can't wait to see it again, it's worth the price of admission alone. One of the complaints I had about The Dark Knight is how messy some of the fight sequences felt. None of that is found here.

The score, similar to The Dark Knight is suburb. Conducted by Hans Zimmer, who also handled the duties on The Dark Knight worked with Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Modest Mouse). It's a stand out that I actually picked up after seeing the flick.

Fault's? I really can't think of any. My gut tells me that the film may end up being fairly divisive. Though I suppose that is a sign of it's quality. Much like Nolan's triumph with The Dark Knight which required post viewing discusion with friends Inception does the same if not more so, days after viewing the film I can't get it off my mind. So be sure to take a group of friends and plan to grab a round or two at the bar after the show.

Inception is a welcome breath of fresh air in a summer that has been an onslaught of mostly low to middling fare. It's also a rare film that only comes around every once in a great while. The caliber of which to me instantly enters it into that rarefied air of an instant classic.

I give Inception 5 out of 5

Movie Review: Cyrus

2010-07-16T11:02:00.000-05:00

Cyrus may be viewed by many as The Duplas brothers first mainstream film. I state that knowing that it is almost more incidental than intentional. Cyrus may also be the film that finally puts the Duplas brothers on a wider radar than they are now. Though a mainstream film the quirky indie comedy is not, and fans of Superbad and Step Brothers that go in expecting the mad cap shenanigans of those films may be caught off guard by the hefty drama that Cyrus can be. Short of the cast featuring John C. Riley, Jonah Hill, and Marisa Tomei Cyrus still feels very, wait for it, I'm about to use that dirty genre word, like a mumblecore film. The Duplas brothers, that would be writer and directors Mark and Jay Duplas are considered members of the core founding group of the very genre which many seem to be attempting to distance themselves from based on my experience at SXSW where Cyrus screened after it's initial premier at Sundance.

The setup for Cyrus is simple. Riley plays John, a divorcee of seven years whom finds out his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) is soon to remarry. John is encouraged by the ex and her fiancee to attend their house party to potentially meet someone new. After several strike outs at the party a chance encounter with Molly (Tomei) proves to be fruitful and the two engage in a quick relationship. Unknown to John, Molly has a twenty-one year old live in son, whom address his mother by her first name which if isn't a warning sign enough seems to constantly be after his mothers attention. A battle of wits and wills quickly unfolds between Cyrus and John for Molly's attention. Most of the comedy in the film comes from the back and forth between John and Cyrus. Thankfully it does't fall into vignettes of these battles and takes a higher brow more subversive tone as the two lock horns not wanting Molly to notice what's really going on.

While enjoyable and not lacking several funny moments during the back and forth little about Cyrus feels fresh. All the characters feel natural and the performances are perfectly fine. It's worth noting that per mumblecore standards there was no actual script, there were general outlines of the characters and the story but outside of that every thing that ended up on screen is improv captured in the moment. An impressive feat and one in which Jonah Hill really seems to get a chance to shine. John C. Riley is equally apt and puts on a performance that recalls some of his earlier indie work mixed with his more recent comedy turns.

The third act gets to feeling a little long once the fun takes a back seat to the stories resolution, though this is something I find somewhat common in mumblecore films. While I enjoyed the laughs ultimately Cyrus is one of those films I walked away from feeling indifferent about. As is typical in most mumblecore films it just kind of ends without any firm resolution. It's parts are fun and Cyrus can be charming and downright hilarious at times. Only problem is that it seemingly can't sustain it's own momentum through out the film. As a character comedy and drama study Cyrus works and it's fun spending time with the group, it's just that we all seemingly don't wan't the party to end and it end's up petering out rather than ending with a bang.

I give Cyrus 3.5 our of 4

Edward Sharpe and the Amazing Day

2010-06-17T00:10:00.000-05:00

Nope, not dead. Just dropped off the radar for a bit...any way....your humble narrator here.

Since I really didn't see the entire Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes show at the Beaumont tonight I didn't feel right writing a proper review for Lost in Reviews. Previous obligations to Toy Story 3 for Lost in Reviews (review Frida, post will be updated with link) had me tied up and thus I missed the first song of their set. So I wondered into the Beaumont half way into their second song. The place felt near capacity, nearly Yeah Yeah Yeahs show last year (if you were there) capcity. I guess fate was shinning upon me on this day, as some kind of cosmic luck has decided to grace me with as of late and I was able to get in.

So the show, it was pretty amazing. The crowd was a mix of modern day what I label hippy kids and the some what typical crowd one would expect for such a show. I guess 96.5 The Buzz was promoting the show, I wouldn't know don't listen, just saw their banners. Thus what I am trying to say is short the flower power kids and dress it was a semi typical buzz crowd. Though well short of the D-Bags I hear packed the River Market a couple weeks back for Buzz Under the Stars. I could tell that the majority of people where there based on buzz (yeah pun intended) than those who were actual fans of the band which I guess I am. I dig the heck out of their album From Below, specifically the track Desert Song but more on that in a minute.

Making my way toward the floor I could tell I would be sufficiently punished for my not so fashionably late arrival. I would be spending the duration of the performance on the outskirts of the floor. My only loss and I will continue to bitch about the fact that the Beaumont is an EXTREMELY poor sight line venue. I am no giant but no midget either. At around 5' 9" I have a difficult time seeing the stage when the place is as full as it was tonight. I get by and manage but it is far from an ideal setting. Gripes about the venue aside.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes pull off their live sound very well. Their debut From Below is pretty damn well produced. With nine members in the band packing the otherwise small Beaumont stage they put all their energy (and a heavy dash of Makers Mark) into pulling the sound off live. Having only the one full length EP to pull material off of most of it was covered. The surprise to me was that the pulled out their best known, radio rotated, made the venue blow up with energy song Home about two songs prior to closing out their set. That was prior to their return for a three song encore. While I appreciate Home and find it to be a quirky love song that is an easy heart melter to drop on a mix cd, for my money From Below gets no better than Desert Song. Thankfully they opened the encore with a fairly tight, though occasionally borderline sloppy rendition of the song. Having my crave satisfied they would play one more track full band prior to doing something I have never before witnessed and question if I ever shall again.

Frontman Alex Ebert jumped off stage and proceded to sit down in the crowd. Urging the crowd on that the song was a sit down song next thing I knew just about every one in the venue was siting indian style on the ground for the acoustic track Brother. I was near flabbergasted that a semi typical KC crowd to chill for a moment and do such a thing. I guess it's a show of the effect that Mr Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes can have on an audience. I was already a convert, this just helped connivence me even more.

If this were a Lost in Reviews review I would give Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at the Beaumont Club 4 "it's not a cult but I now own the shirt(s)" out of 5

Quick impressions of the HTC Touch Pro2 on Sprint

2010-01-08T09:43:00.004-06:00

So I broke down and received a new phone. I had an HTC Touch Pro, I now have, wait for it...a Touch Pro2. Can it be the rare sequel that is better than the first. Come on this is tech not a movie so of course it has to be better right?!?

WOW LOOK AT THAT SCREEN (3.6" 480x800), sooooo pretty huge and very touch friendly considering it's not capacitive, like most modern EVERY phone should be.
3.5mm headphone jack built in, I have only been waiting on this since well 2004?
Keyboard wow these keys are huge for a 5 row keyboard and very clicky/tactile friendly
Battery life is schooling my TP so far. Been listening to music, doing some web surfing and leaving wi-fi on this morning. Battery still showing 100%(!?!) okay it's at 90 now...but still.
The speakers/speaker phone. WOW listening to music on a device has never been better. To bad I don't do more conference calls as the mute button on the back of the phone is a pretty cool touch for the best speaker phone I have every used on a phone.

Dislike/frustrations

IT'S STILL FREAKING WINDOWS, come on HTC why would you saddle such a beautiful piece of hardware with such a crap operating system. Sure I unlocked it and already flashed a cooked firmware to it but it's still the same as my TP just with a bigger screen more or less. It still lags and hangs since the processor and memory are identical to my old TP.
UGH it sucks not having a direction navigator on the front of the phone. Have to slide out the keyboard/stylus to get really specific with something on the screen. Or god forbid use the touch screen keyboard/navigation keys. That touch zoom is pointless, get rid of it and just add a software zoom button where it is needed.
I know its more 'slender' than the brick that was the TP but it looks big, definitely wider in the hand, more of a two handed use type device even with just the touch screen. I could easily use my TP with one hand, this thing cramps my hand fast and it just doesn't feel as natural to use it one handed.
The keyboard, yes I know I just praised it above but lots of keys I used to use are now gone. ctrl, alt, tab come time mind. Yes I used them, so yes I notice them missing. Also the lay out of the keys that are there is different so I am going through a bit of a learning curve getting used to the new layout.

Here is a piece of awesome news...bless the developer/hack/code monkey community at XDA. There is currently a 3k dollar bounty/reward (thought about throwing in some cash myself) for getting Android fully functioning and operational on this phone. This has been done on other HTC/WinMO hardware so it is possible. Heck I ran Android on my HTC Mogul back in the day. There is even a video of a Diamond2 booting Android 2.1, but it still has a long way to go before being ready for prime time. A guy can hope/dream though right?

I plan on following up in about a month to update on my experience with the phone. It's worth noting I may not match that of the casual user as I have already (as noted above) unlocked my phone and flashed it to Mightyrom Impact If you own a Windows mobile phone and haven't done this you are really missing out on getting the best from your phone. You should research doing this as it gurantees you will have the best (still crappy) Windows mobile phone experience possible.

Oh one final thing...the back of the phone looks like something out of Galaga. Pretty rad for a guy like me. Bold styling choice Sprint and HTC. Kudos on a vast improvement of the fugly gold/bronze of the TP.

Thanks Alotta, TOPPALOTTA!

2009-12-21T13:58:00.004-06:00

Chicago style Hot Dogs, much like some say their windy cities namesake politics can be are messy...

I rediscovered as much on my recent stop at TOPPALOTTA! (their emphasis not mine.) Walking home for lunch only to discover I had left my apartment keys back in my desk I decided to head to City Center square to grab some food. I choose City Center as a week or so back walking down to the AMC Mainstreet I noted a sign out front advertising a new establishment offering wings and hot dogs, both items I can eat at just about any time. I have reached a point in my life where there is a dividing line for hot dog stands or any establishment that offers them really. Well not really a line so much as to say if you don’t serve a Chicago style hot dog then you are not a proper hot dog stand or vendor. It just seems wrong to me to not offer what many consider the quintessential style of hotdog. Moreover, may whatever deities may or may not exist have mercy on the soul of any fool who puts ketchup on their dog. Before I spiral off into a tangent about hot dog preparation styles and the various condiments that can be placed upon them let me get back to TOPPALOTTA!

Arriving at the City Center Square their food courts landscape has shifted substantially over the last couple of years. As major, and typically busy, chains McDonald’s and Taco Bell have shuttered their doors and moved on. In their place has been a filling of what appear to be small independently owned establishments taking their place. Any one who knows me knows I am always going out of my way to support local owned restaurants over the corporate chain crap so this has been a welcome development. TOPPALOTTA! occupies the former Taco bell space. Their menu is about as basic as it comes and as a guy speaks to my soul. They offer a six wing and fry combo, 12 wing and fry combo, or the hot dog and fry combo. They don’t specifically state that they make Chicago style hot dogs but a cursory glance at their hot dog toppings board filled my stomach with delight to see all the toppings required. I didn’t try their wings but they seemed to be popular and they offer what appeared to be 10 or so different sauces.

As I went to order I asked the cashier if he knew what I meant when I stated that I would like to have a Chicago style dog. He acknowledged that he knew what I meant but did not know what all that entailed. I was reassured however that the individual preparing my dog knew exactly what it was and would prepare my dog as such. It is at this point that it I should mention that TOPPALOTTA! uses 100% all beef franks for their dogs. This is an essential starting base for any Chicago style dog. I am sure some may take issue with my assessment as I know some purest insist that a 100% Vienna Beef dog be used but Vienna is nothing but a brand to me. Further rest assured the the casing on the dogs that TOPPALOTTA! uses is good enough for me.

The hot dog preparation area is right out in plain view at TOPPALOTTA! Thus I was able to watch my dog being prepared. If I had anything negative to say it’s that a wonder bread bun was used and not the Chicago style standard of a Poppy seed bun. My bun was really soggy by the time I got back to my desk but made it through. Other than that, all of the ingredients were spot on. I even have to give TOPPALOTTA! high marks for using fresh dill spears. On my most recent, and first visit to The Pizza Man, what many consider to be the ONLY stop for Chicago style dogs in KC I was rather disappointed to find a limp, nasty, Vlasic style dill spear on my dog.

I took the dog and fries back to the office and ate at my desk. What followed were fond memories of my most recent trip to Chicago. Being a downtown dweller and worker TOPPALOTTA! is a welcome addition that I hope sticks around. City Center square can occasionally seem like a revolving door of restaurants but I hope this is one that sticks around. For my filling hot dog and fries combo ($3.98) and a drink ($1.59) I was out for right around 6 bucks at $5.90 with tax. I plan to head back their soon to try their wings and pick up another dog. I thought I missed Taco Bell, but what moved in to their old space is a vastly superior alternative that I will be telling any one who listen to me about.

TOPPALOTTA! is located on the lower level of City Center square 1100 Main Street Kansas City, Mo 64105 816-421-1577 They are open until 6PM M-F

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Movie Reivew: Invictus

2009-12-10T00:43:00.000-06:00

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Unlike the short moving Henley poem, which Nelson Mandela had written on a scrap of paper in his prison cell Invictus at 2 hours and 15 minutes is a drawn out film that falls short due to being too drawn out, trying to hard to capture ones emotions and being about a sport that no one in the United States cares or knows much about.

Sure all the ingredients are there for an outstanding film. You have two great performances form Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, and a flubbing only one accented line Matt Damon as the captain of the South African national rugby team. It's a beautifully shot filmed almost entirely on location but the typical cliched sports story sells the movie short.

The movie opens with archival footage of Morgan Freeman replacing the real Nelson Mandela on 11 Febuary 1990 up through his presidential election in 1994. Events that singled the ultimate end to Apartheid. 11 Feb. 1990 for those not up to speed on your South African history is the day that Mandela was freed from prison after being held captive for 27 years. In a scene that shows the segregation the country experienced at the time a young adults rugby coach tells his players that it is the day that their country was given to the dogs as they practice on picture perfect grass and nice surroundings as across the street nothing but dirt and shacks is to be seen in slum like conditions.

As Mandela takes his presidential office many expect him to come in and clean house, as if he plans to extract some kind of justice for the injustice done on to him. As he calls an all staff meeting where most all of the white employees have already removed all of their personal possessions or arrive at the meeting with their boxes packed he informs them that he would like them all to stay on board, there is much work to be done and he will need all of their talents.

To be honest I found the picture pretty intriguing up until the point that rugby became such a large part of it. Being that I was all of nine years old at the time of Mandel's release from prison I never really understood the implications of what was taking place at the time. True story, when my grandmother was trying to explain the significance of the event while watching the evening news with me all I could think to say was "So he has never seen Back to the Future?" My grandmother scolded me a bit for this but it shows you how little of a grasp I had of reality at the time. Thus this the first hour or so of this film will be great for social studies teachers. Just leave the second half out. Nelson Mandela is a truly fascinating leader as portrayed by Morgan whose compassion, understanding, and perseverance given the circumstances he faced is admirable, and something that every one could take a hint form and follow even today.

Why could I have done with out the second half you ask? The film devolves into the typical cliched sports flick. Worse it goes on for far to long. The films grand finale takes place over the entire length of a rugby match, its far to long. Throw in overly cheesy to bad current poppy music, in what is to be a period piece and several montages that had me groaning. I couldn't wait for the Springboks, the South African National rugby team lead by captain Francois Pienarr (Damon) to win the championship so it would all come to an end. It didn't help that my understanding of rugby is about zero and the film doesn't go out of it's way to explain the sport at all. The best you get is when the team visit children to coach them on the sport and all I took away from that was that you couldn't pass the ball forward, only to the sides or back. Thus several moments in the overly long final match left me scratching my head as to the significance of the call the ref just made which seem to get way more frames of film than they needed.

It was unfortunate to see a film with so many things going right the performances form Damon and Freeman, the superb photography, and good first half loose the ball in the scrum and turn what had all the makings for an excellent film a mere mediocre one by way of bad music, cliched sports montages, and hammering over the head inspirational speeches/moments.

Invictus
3 out of 5

Rated PG-13
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by Anthony Peckham (Screenplay) John Carlin (book)
Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

Lost in News: Todays film news that may have been missed.

2009-12-09T19:34:00.002-06:00

SO here is a trial run of something I hope to be able to turn into a daily feature at that other site I do work for. That's assuming they want it, and I can keep up enough to do it.

A round up of posters that mostly movie geeks will get excited about is at Film Junk.

Speaking of Film Junk, they have been running down their top 20 picks of the decade. So far I tend to agree with all of their picks.

There were lots of rumors about the post Avatar Cameron plans today.

Twilight Eclipse (6/30/10) gets the lame blown up 35mm print IMAX 'Experience' treatment. As a reminder, this is nothing more than a marketing gimmick with a worse picture but better sound.

Another rumor item on a great many sites, Josh Brolin (W., No Country for Old Men) to be in Men in Black 3?

Universal Pictures announced via Twitter yesterday that The Wolfman (2/12/10) has been given an R rating by the MPAA for bloody horror, violence and gore. My interest based on other buzz in this pic went up based on this news.

The trailer for the Nic Cage starring Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean) produced live action/modern The Sorcerer's Apprentice showed up online today, and rounds up today's news.

HO HO HOlidays...

2009-12-06T02:23:00.001-06:00

Be safe marry and all that other B.S. that is spewed forth at this time of the year. Planing on trying to do a daily column as a trial run for some other things starting perhaps this week. Will see how it goes, schedule has been thinning out lately so I think I shall be able to get it done.
As always click the pic for maximum effect and enjoyment...thanks for dropping by and reading my garbage.

Video Game Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

2009-11-24T00:13:00.000-06:00

Uncharted 2 is a sequel to the well received 2007 PS3 exclusive Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Having never played through the original game I picked up Uncharted 2 based onthe positive buzz that followed the game through early builds and its reception at E3 where several gaming sites declared it one of the best of the show and a front runner for game of the year contention.

Uncharted 2 is similar to the popular but dated Tomb Raider series. Blending elements of platform gaming, the occasional puzzle and plenty of action. Both share a spiritual kinship with the Indiana Jones film series, so much so that there are several moments in the game where I felt this was the greatest Indiana Jones game ever made. Uncharted is just missing the iconic character and his whip. You control Nathan 'Nate' Drake a self-deprecating, devil may care, cocksure, as the manual puts it fortune-hunter. He has a shady reputation and an even shadier past. In this sequel Drake finds himself thinking he is out only to be pulled back in. He is a pretty smart guy regarding the history of mysterious sought after artifacts and locations and can't turn down an opportunity when presented to him. In these pursuits he often finds himself in situations that put him in way over his head and it seems, like Dr. Jones, is making things up as he goes along.

Having never played the original I had reservations about diving into the sequel as I worried that the two stories would be heavily tied together. Luckily I never felt lost in the story unlike some other game series, Metal Gear Solid I am looking at you. If there were any call backs to the first game they were subtle enough that i never picked up on them. Having played the game to completion at normal difficulty the story is more self contained, similar to the serial film elements it borrows from. There are a couple of carry over characters in Uncharted 2. The game quickly explains their background or they are built up enough leading to their introduction that you don't need any. This is nice as you won't end up feeling lost once they come into the story. Sure it may be more rewarding for those that played the first entry but I was never confused to the point of feeling as if I needed to purchase the first game and play through it.

The game controls pretty well but I do have a couple of complaints. First up was the wall cover mechanism. It works but breaking cover from a wall can be hit and miss. This led to several instances where I was trying to stealthy sneak up on a guard only to get spotted and have to undertake a skirmish rather than stealthily take each of them out. The second issue is with wall scaling. Drake climbs, lots and lots of stuff in the game. Heck the game opens with a dramatic, effective, wrecked train that you scale up. PRO TIP: If you are stuck, look up or around for a scalable wall or ledge. Chances are that's where you need to go next. Problem with that? Many of the textures on the walls and ledges look alike. Thus there were several instances where I thought I was looking at a scalable wall or ledge I could grab on to but couldn't. I guess it adds to the realism, and after a while I was able to more easily identify what was and wasn't scalable but still an annoyance. The jumping mechanism works really well once you figure out where you should be jumping. Weapon control, of which you can carry two firearms at anytime, work at the best of the third person perspective game play type.

The graphics are stunning running at 720P, this is easily one of the best looking games I have played this year. The game opens with a wrecked train amongst snowy mountains and a snow storm taking place. The textures from developer Naughty Dog's in house 2.0 game engine with physics being handled by the popular Havoc physics engine work well in tandem. Throw in excellent DTS suround sound and it made me feel as if the temperature in the room was steadily dropping. Once arriving in tropical island paradise they helped place me there with birds chirping and waterfalls. The in game story/mvoie sequences appear to be done in engine. As games approach the uncanny valley with each release on the current aging platforms everything looks more realistic. Certainly the case here with one exception. What the heck is going on with the eyes of these people! They look bizarre and out of place at times. Usually glassy and look disproportionate to the rest of the face and overly glossy.

The game supports on-line play through the Playstaion Network (PSN). Up to 10 players can partake in various multiplayer modes. Or you can join two others for a 3 player co-op matches. I played a bit of each, dying quite a bit, and watching hours melt away scarily fast. Similar to just about every other game out there you earn points as you complete matches and build your stats. You can then trade these credits in toward player boosters of which you can use two in matches. You also have the option of purchasing additional character skins, weapons and other various items. I experienced some minor annoyance with lag here and there and at times of heavy network traffic I bumped into server migration quite a bit more than I am used to.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a great addition to the PS3 library and an easy recommend in the usually crowded holiday season. The single player story progresses and keeps you engaged wanting to continuously play on to find out what happens next. There are unlockables upon completion of the game that encourage you to play through the story again. Once you tire of the single player mode you may find plenty of hours easily falling off the clock playing on the PSN.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 3.5 out of 4

Completed the game on Normal, logging way more hours than I care to admit in Multiplayer on the PSN.

Review Setup
Display: PS3 connected via Monster HDMI cable running at 720P on a 65" 1080P capable LCD @ 60hz
Audio: Fiber Optic to a Dolby Digital/DTS Surround Sound receiver setup in 5.0 all wired with Monster cable

Movie Review : The Blind Side, isn't the total cliche you expect

2009-11-20T01:19:00.000-06:00

NOTE: This review is for entertainment purposes only. Do not read it if you do not have a sense of Humor. Click comic for maximum effect.

So The Blind Side 2.5 out of 4, it's good but nothing great. Plays with the heart strings a bit much here or there. Still a little hard to believe this all actually happened in real life.

Movie Review: The Fourth Kind = The Boring Kind

2009-11-06T00:06:00.000-06:00

Three cheap jump scares do not a scary movie make...or even an alien abduction film. Skeptics move right along while those that drink the Kool-aid keep chugging.

I knew from the moment I saw the first trailer for The Fourth Kind that it would be all kinds of awful. Anything were an actor comes right up to the camera and starts explaining what it's about is in trouble. Why? Easy, shouldn't a film contain a story/plot that explains whats going on? Or at least some kind of narrative that moves things along? Yes. But that was the trailer, well guess what it's the exact same thing that the film opens with. It nearly took me out of the picture from the beginning.

Part of this films biggest failure is in its use, occasionally concurrently, of supposed archival footage and recordings of actual case studies. This is done with a picture in picture type view, at times with up to four windows to watch. Showing the shiny sexy Hollywood "reenactment" with it's pricey talent on display next to the grainy "archival" VHS tapes with Joe Bob actor finally getting more than a day long walk on role.

Doesn't make any sense to me why they would go through the trouble of filming estential 2 films at the same time. Seems like a heavy load for a first time writer and director to take on. Making one film with high dollar name talent and production values, the other a bunch of grainy VHS footage with low production values. In the same year where we have already had a pretty effective scare fest that effectively takes the mockumentry route Fourth Kind fails using this device on all fronts. Had it stuck with one style I feel it would have been infinitely more effective and reversed the fortune of the film.

Most of the film is drawn out explaining how Nome Alaska is home to more reported cases of missing persons, strange deaths, and strange owls than just about any where else. We follow Milla Jovovich as she portrays the sexy version of Dr. Abigail Tyler. The 'archival' Abigail Tyler is a gaunt corpse look alike, talk about contrast... The only interesting scenes are when the film finally gets around to the hypnosis sessions. Tales about an omnipresent owl are linked to things that the patients block out of their mind after the owl disappears. They are then visited by something just outside their door. These sessions end with the patient freaking out about what is in their head to the point of physical ills or violent reactions. Other than these interviews with the patients I sat around waiting for something interesting to happen, which didn't.

I also had a major problem with the slight twist at the end that essentially makes you question just about everything you have seen in the film to that point. To me it was similar to the, oh that was just a dream, write off for a bad sequel. Unfortunatelly this isn't a sequel, and it wasn't a dream that I wasted 98mins watching this film.

1 out of 4

Movie Reivew: The weird for the sake of being weird, The Box...

2009-11-05T23:39:00.001-06:00

Or How Richard Kelly continued killing any good will he earned with the cult success of Donnie Darko...

When being weird, disjointed and boring isn't enough mix in some Sci-Fi elements, government conspiracies, and plot that really doesn't hold much. An interesting complex idea goes to waste.

I give The Box 1.5 Stars out of 4

Should we really DEMAND IT?

2009-11-02T11:30:00.004-06:00

Congratulations Paramount you now own the rights to the most profitable motion picture of all time. What lead to this? A seemingly simple mixture of a decent film, and some arguably brilliant marketing by the studio behind it all. The whole scheme gives me pause as I ponder how its success might impact other niche films, as it already seems to be doing so.

As a quick recap if you aren't familiar with the marketing campaign surrounding Paranormal Activity. The writer and director of Activity Oren Peli made the film in 2007 for estimates that I have read between 11K-15K. It generated some buzz after screening at a couple of horror centric film festivals and was picked up by Paramount after some pretty standard Hollywood baseball not worth retreading here, if you are interested the wiki page gives you all the inside info you need. Flash forward to September 25,2009 when Paramount finally gets around to releasing the film to a total of 13 college towns, only screening it at midnight. Keep in mind this is a film that the major film geek web sites hype machine were raving about working the geek hoards in to a frenzy, and general buzz even away from the geek masses was pretty high. The well cut trailer and all promotion materials were encouraging any one that viewed them to head to a website, that would prove spamtastic, and demand that Paramount release the film in their town.

By the power of an iPhone world gone twit-my-face-space-book-feed crazy word of mouth, or as the hip cats call it, social media marketing for the film spread like a wild brush fire. In the interest of full disclosure, yes even I was caught up in the hoopla, after rejecting it at first. First time I watched the trailer I had two reactions, first a big F you to the studio, just release the damn picture in my town. The second, was the good old wait for it.. you know like a joke waiting for a punch line, only in this instance waiting for the studio to anounce a local release date/screening. I eventually gave in and demanded it. I in turn subjected my inbox to all kinds of spam about the film, since an email address was, naturally required to confirm my demand. The spam consisted of updates about how rabid people were going demanding Activity be brought to their town with a leader board wtih those next in line to receive the film.

The studios marketing arm got all their typical outlets in on the game and even local critics were as eager to see the film as the general public. Most encouraging their readers to go forth and demand the film. The rest is now marketing history, congrats Paramount and eventful, the website that was a big part of the campaign. Within a months time more than a million people had ~~requested~~, demanded, that Activity come to their town. To me Paramount really missed the boat as they should have made it a traveling road show extravaganza! Come see what MILLIONS have DEMANDED to see! Sorry I digress. but Paramount PR feel free to call if you like the idea.

Now two more niche films are getting the demand it, treatment, and like Activity are on the social media marketing train. One already has a devout cult following, the other is an homage to blaxploitation films of the '70's. Both films are perfect geek fodder. Similar to Activity their internet hype train has been moving along at full steam since either announced by their director, in the case of Boondock Saints 2 or some one some where saw them at a festival and raved about the film Black Dynamite, followed by a pretty kick ass trailer for it.

This demand it trend disturbs me for several reasons. The biggest of which is that its a great disservice for the fans in the case of Boondock. A quick note here, it would be easy to assume that I am a Boondock fan getting all worked up about not getting a chance to see it this weekend. On the contrary, as I didn't care for the first film all that much, and really have little interest in its sequel. Last week I had non movie geek friends texting, calling, and asking if I had any plus ones for a press screening of, or if Lost in Reviews may be giving away passes to an advanced screening of Boondock 2. Seems many didn't get the memo, since it wasn't clear in the trailer that the film wasn't opening across the US, only limited to NY and LA this past weekend. A weekend that last year saw the solid Kevin Smith comedy with two pretty bankable stars Seth Rogen, and Elizabeth Banks get released to generally favorable reviews, it currently sits with a 65% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes but bomb at the box office. Common thought is Halloween is one of the worst release weekends, and is used as a dumping ground for films.

I also think the demand trend could devalue films that get it's treatment. How so? Easy, if a film is only receiving a limited release is it due to it being a crap film? Is it getting dumped into theaters to fulfill contractual obligations? From one perspective it's easy to view these demand it shenanigans as a ploy to cash in on something the studio may not have otherwise made money on. Sure, the same My-Tweet-Face-Space-feed-book will kill these things dead once they get out, if they turn out shoclk, but what if a film gets a strictly demand it only wide release after a set number of fans ask for it? Sold out showings, and money in the bank for the studio after night one. Yeah that last bit is a stretch, and would be reliant on other factors outside of initial tickets sales to prove profitable. Outside of the indies how many large studios are really taking such incalculably risk these days?

Demand it also lays some pretty heavy expectations on the film in question. One of my initial problems after seeing Activity was a general feeling of that was it? Thanks to all the hype it received me and the group I attended a screening with walked in expecting the next coming of the horror genre, sure we knew better, but I mean A MILLION people demanded to see this, so it must have been pretty great right? That's why I feel that this demand it scheme is disingenuous at best. Had I not given myself a day or two to let my thoughts about Activity stew in my head, I probably would have trashed it in my review just due to the pre-hype that got the best of me.

Good old word of mouth is still the ultimate tool that determines the fate of a films success. It's part of the reason all these social media experts have popped up in the PR and marketing world. It's also why every studio, if not each release is on twitter building hype toward its release date. It's pretty much proven fact that every one takes the advice of their friends over some random person. I am not against rolling releases, which at the end of the day is what Activity received if you pull the demand it angle from the equation. Heck prior to Jaws it's how things were done, still is for most art house films, and it works. Slowly building deserved hype behind a film while those not deserving of such die a pretty quick death. I just fear this demand it crazy might get out of control and thus can't wish it a quick enough death.

Calling all fellow KC movie geeks...you disapointment me.

2009-10-24T11:57:00.000-05:00

Yeah you...I see you out there. At the midnight screenings week in week out. Midnights at wally world on Tuesday's to get the latest and greatest DVD/Blu-Ray releases. The ones writing reviews for the G.I. Joe test screening back in July that end up on sites like Aint it cool news and Slash film. I am one of you too brothers in sisters, thus I must ask...

Where the f*** were you last night?

If you didn't know, and obviously aren't following me on Twitter, or a friend on Facebook if you didn't, the Screenland Armour has a print of Raiders of the Lost Ark which they are showing for the next week. I attended the 7PM showing last night, opening night, and their were maybe as an optimistic guesstimate 20 TOTAL people in the entire audience.

Kansas City movie geeks/film fans this is pathetic...

On what was arguably the weakest release weekend of the last month you turned your backs on what was easily the best film to see in town last night. I see you complain in the AICN talk backs about KC never getting any cool screenings, we get something awesome like Raiders and no one shows. The Screenland is about the closest thing we will ever get to the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. They show the Big Leboswki at least once a month, offer a full bar, buckets of beer, and at the Armour theater even offer food. They don't feature all the pre-show count down bull shit that the local megaplexs do (even though it could help their bottom line.) Were talking nothing pre show, oh except for the really cool introduction by a person who comes into to tell you what you are about to watch, similar to the introductions at the Archlight in Hollywood.

Just surprised, and disappointed that their wasn't a better turn out for this. Seems this town is filled with a bunch of individuals not interested in sharing their love of quality films, new and old, while supporting a local business that takes a chance and does something cool. Also surprised their isn't more of a community vibe amongst the local self proclaimed film geeks considering KC has more screens per capita than just about any other city in the US.

Sound off in the comments below if you feel I am off base or with your theory as to why there seems to be such divisive clustering of movie fans in KC.

Video Game Review: Batman Arkahm Asylum - PS3

2009-10-21T01:18:00.007-05:00

So I am a little late on this one, feel free to string me up from a gargoyle like one of Jokers thugs...

Since this game currently sits on Metacritic with a 91 I am not sure how much I can really add. Yes it is easily one of the best games using licensed characters I have ever played. I feel fairly confident that this was thanks to the inclusion of Paul Dini one of the masterminds behind Batman the Animated Series that ran on Fox between 1992-1995. I consider Batman: TAS (as fans shorten The animated series to) the quintessential version of Batman. Sorry Noland's terrific Dark Knight, your an outstanding film, and will stand in my mind as the live action version of Batman. However you can't match 3 years of depth in TAS. It didn't hurt that Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hamil (The Joker) reprised their rolls from TAS in the game. Oh and the only girl that will ever drive me wild any time she shows up, Harley Quinn voiced by the only person that should ever be allowed to voice her Arleen Sorkin is in the mix.

So the quality is there for the story and voice work. What about the actual game play since this is uh a game? The fighting mechanic worked for me. To be sure this is a button masher, you string together combos to take down large groups of baddies and gain special moves as the combo meter climbs higher. There are also several instances where you can take on the terror of the night type of Batman and stalk each of the thugs and take them down one by one. By the time the final thug is left standing he is so freaked he gets erratic in his movements and it becomes apparent that any composure they had is now gone.

I do have a few complaints about the game. Perhaps as a victim of its own awesomeness. I found the game to be too short. I was able to beat the normal difficult level and complete all of the Riddler's challenges within in 4 solid playing sessions consisting of about 8-10 hours of play for an 82% complete rating according to the game. The camera work (which you do control a bit) also could use some work, at times it was just a bit off. Also, Harley Quinn was taken out of the story too soon, but then again being the sucker that I am for her I don't like any time she is taken out of any story.

Unlike many games these days there isn't any multi-player online component to Asylum. It's strictly a one player affair. To help get some additional game play out of the disc they have included 'challenge' maps that are most of the major battle areas, and even a couple that weren't in the game, where you can take on wave after wave of baddie, or some that are all about stealth. Each of these have different goals that you don't have to meet but help your score since they are all complied on a leader board for the Playstation Network (PSN). The nice bonus that at least for now is a PS3 exclusive is the ability to play as the Joker on the challenge maps. Fair warning this isn't included on the disc and has to be downloaded from the PSN store but it is free. Playing as the Joker amps up the difficulty in the challenge maps since he doesn't have any real stealth to speak of. He does get a couple of cool Joker style gizmos but has very little compared to Bat's 'wonderful toys'.

All in all Batman Arkham Asylum is the best Batman game ever produced. Luckily it's setup for a sequel at the end which I can hardly wait for, and can't come soon enough. Hopefully the sequel includes some co-op (hello Robin or Night Wing!) and better camera work.

I give Batman Arkham Asylum 3.5 out of a possible 4

Played to 82% completion with all Riddler's challenges complete, and all batman upgrades at Normal difficulty. Several challenge maps played as Batman and Joker.

Setup
PS3 HDMI @ 720P on an 65" 1080P capable LCD (game runs at 720P on PS3)
Optical Dolby Digital Connection to a 5.1 receiver setup in 5.0

Notes on KC Theater

2009-10-21T00:31:00.000-05:00

Click here to check out my review of Palomino over at Lost in Reviews.

Last week was a great, sex filled (see review for Spring Awakening,) week for theater in KC. It also kept on a roll with the quality of the productions. If you have never been to the Rep or caught one of the Broadway across America shows you should really make plans to do so now. They have started out full sprint and the productions ahead look promising.

This doesn't even touch on many of the other local theaters. The Unicorn, Coterie to name just a couple. I guess having all the summer schlock move out of movie theaters is also the case in terms of other avenues of entertainment as the theater season gets off to such a smashing start. Good thing too with all the unseasonably cold weather we have had this month.

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are

2009-10-16T00:01:00.004-05:00

The visually stunner requires some thought...and is an interesting character study.

Director Spike Jonez uses Maurice Sendak's characters and titles but that's about all it shares in common with his illustrated book that contains just nine sentences. Max is an imaginative attention seeking kid, if he doesn't get his way he often acts out with rage and anger. Much like the monster Carol whom he meets latter.

On an evening when his mom is entertaining a suitor Max tries to get her attention. Not receiving what he feels he deserves Max lashes out at his mother, biting her in the process, and runs away from home realizing what he's done. Finding a sail boat he jumps in and finds where the wild things are.

The bulk of the film is spent with Max, played excellently by the aptly named Max Records, and the Wild Things. Not a whole lot of time is spent at home explaining where Max's father is. It's definitely a broken home, Claire, Max's sister want's nothing to do with her brother and views him as a nuisance. It's obvious that Max's mom loves him but is a busy single mother, trying to get by at work, and pursuing her own love life.

Once Max arrives at the island he comes upon the monsters as Carol, voiced by James Gandolfini is going about their village destroying their homes. The monsters are incredibly detailed and look as if they could walk off the screen and be believable. The amazing monster suits are no doubt thanks to Jim Hensons creature shop/studio who created the suits. Used with a mix of CGI to animate their faces. Max soon reveals himself to the monsters, who view him as a meal and prepare to dine. The quick on his toes Max regales the monsters with one of his imaginative tales about his powers and they crown him king rather than eat him due to his 'powers'.

At first Max thinks he can handle being the monsters king but slowly begins to realize that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Max can't play with the big rough and tumble Monsters and often finds him self in perilous situations. When the afterglow of him being crowned king subsides other monsters begin to accuse Max of playing favorites, and question his power and authority. Things get further muddied and complicated as his imagination gets bigger than he can prove it to be and the monsters realize that they have been lied to.

Carol reflects much of Max's rage and anger due to the lack of attention and affection he perceives he should receive from KW (voiced by Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet Under). Even though Carol's actions are undeserving of such affections, and he displays disdain toward her other friends. I enjoyed the dynamic of Max playing off the very distinct personalities of each monster that reflect various aspects of himself. The film also does a pretty effective job at tugging on heart strings here and there.

This is a young adults film and I feel not best suited for young kids. To me it seems like one of those films that a 10 year old would enjoy and grow to appreciate as they get older. As they age an understanding of the added depth and complexity to Max, and his mirror Carol, and how he in turn grows from his interactions with the monsters. The film also doesn't talk down to or try to pander to children which was nice and refreshing since it would have been a some what obvious choice to make, and one that the studio at one time wished to scrap this entire film and pursue.

It took me some time to let Wild Things sit and stew in my head to get my thoughts out about it. My expectations were set pretty high for this film and I feel that most of them were met. The film certainly makes you think and has grown on me the more I think about it.

Where the Wild Things are 3 out of a possible 4 stars

Directed by Spike Jonze
Written by Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers
Based off the Picture book by Maurice Sendak
Starring Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini

Movie Review: Law Abiding Citizen

2009-10-16T00:00:00.037-05:00

I don't think I have been more conflicted about my thoughts on a film in recent memory. Thats not saying I didn't enjoy Law Abiding Citizen, its just that like the confused film that it is I find it difficult to convey how I feel about it. It's a moderate concept film, it starts off with a normal looking evening in the Shelton household. As wife works on dinner, dad works in the living room as daughter works on her second bracelet of the evening for mom. A knock on the door and violent home invasion later and Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) finds himself alone after he witnesses the brutal murder of his wife and child.

Young 'boy wonder' assistant prosecuting attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) is over seeing the case of the two that invaded and murdered Shelton's family. Wanting to pursue the sure conviction rather than the potential for the murder to walk in a drawn out case he accepts a plea bargain from the murder. This assures that his accomplice, who didn't commit the murders receives the death sentence. Rice isn't thrilled about taking the deal, but feels that given the evidence available is the best course to take.

Flash forward ten years where Nick is so busy with work that he elects to attend the execution of the invader rather than his ten year old daughters recital. The execution goes horribly wrong, and all indicators point to the man that Nick plea bargained with years ago as the culprit. As the police are closing in on the home of the suspect he receives a call from a 'guardian angel' that gets him out of the police way but turns out to be deadly. He soon finds a gruesome torture porn like fate awaiting him as Clyde takes revenge for the night his family was taken away from him. What ensues is a battle of wits between Nick and Clyde as Clyde systematically, and often graphically begins taking out any one involved in the trial of those that invaded his home and murdered his family.

If it seemed it took a while to read through the setup it's because it did in the film as well. The concept seems simple enough walking in but layers are added to it as the film progresses. Naturally the quickest way to know the gist is to watch the trailer which condenses the setup into a two min bite sized portion, note that the scene with the informant style guy explaining Clydes background doesn't show up until pretty far into the film. This is one of those movies that only gives you the information that you need to know, if any until its ready to reveal more later, which as is standard these days the trailer gives away.

Part of me feels like this (the revelations) is a cheat as it can be used to help explain things after the fact and used to cover up sloppy writing. At one point I was beginning to wonder when, and how they were going to wrap it up in a clean manner as things seem to get more and more complex and continually escalate. Director F. Gary Gray keeps a pretty tight grip on things so I blame the script for some of these issues. A story like this could have easily spiraled out of control if in the hands of a less experienced director.

The two central characters Butler's Clyde and Foxx's Nick are as interesting as the layers of complexity in the story and its a decent character piece. I was conflicted through out the film about which side I should really be sympathetic toward. The film is an interesting study of how flawed the justice system can be, and those flaws reflect in the characters that inhabit the screen. Clyde makes a great anti hero given his motivation for what he does. At first I easily justify the actions that he takes. As things progress I began to really question his motivation as he goes beyond what I felt necessary. On the other side is Nick who thinks that he understands Clyde only to find out as those closer to him begin to die that he really doesn't, and how serious of a threat he is. Unlike those around him who begin to question if they are doing and have done the right thing, Nick never stops to question the action he has taken and is determined to the end.

The movie is a very hard R. There are a couple of scenes with 'Saw' level torture porn and blood. The tone is set almost out of the gate with the home invasion. I didn't quite expect this level of gruesome violence on screen, but some of it reflects the actual reality of such an event. It is a peculiar choice however as the violence level throughout the film is inconsistent. Abiding is more of a thriller than an action/violence film so I found this to be an odd and disjointed choice for the film.

Overall Law Abiding Citizen is a conflicted film, which left me feeling conflicted towards it. The quality is there to be an excellent film but it just seems to be missing that something to give it an extra push.

Law Abiding Citizen 2.5 Stars out of a possible 4

Directed by F. Gary Gray

Written by Kurt Wimmer

Starring Geard Butler, Jamie Foxx

Movie Review: Paranormal Activity

2009-10-13T16:40:00.000-05:00

It isn't here...but it is over at Lost in Reviews. Friday I will have reviews of the highly anticipated Where the Wild Things Are and Law Abiding Citizen.

Movie Review: Assassination of a High School President

2009-10-10T12:39:00.002-05:00

Assassination of a High School President is a who done it tale set in St. Donovans private high school. Bobby Funke (Reece Thompson) is the self proclaimed best writer for the school paper. Every social clique has been copying off the same person, and Funke wants to do some Woodward and Bernstein style investigative journalism to get to the bottom of it. Pitching the idea in front of the entire paper staff he is outed for having never completed an assignment, and embarrassed thanks to his lone claim to fame for having being tied to a snowmen's genital. His editor gives him his 'big' break by giving him a puff piece to write about the high school president. Funke quickly finds out the president is be 'all length and no depth'.

During a basketball game a break in into the principal's office occurs and SAT's are stolen. The principal rounds up all the usual suspects about the theft and includes Funke since he had been snooping around for his piece about Paul Moore (Patrick Taylor) the class president. After piecing some questionable leads together he writes a piece accusing Moore, the president as the thief, but was he really?

St. Donovans, the setting for most the film, is filled with eclectic eccentric characters, from the hilarious hardcore Desert Storm war vet principal played by Bruce Willis, to a quirky nurse who comes across as an aloof cougar on the prowl. All the social circles felt just like I remember them in high school, perhaps just a bit hyper realized.

The script is a great character piece that really builds on the world as Funke puts the pieces together and keeps you right there with him. This film is spiritually similar to Rain Johnson's excellent 2005 film Brick, Netflix/rent it now if you haven't seen it, although not quite as dark. It keeps enough funny bits in it to keep from getting too serious, but stays believable. As with any good who done it flick I didn't have all the pieces together until the very end and the pay off worked for me.

The sound track is pretty heavy on good alternative music that fits all the moods of the film and doesn't just feel tacked on to sell CD's and Mp3 files.

It's a shame this didn't get even a limited theatrical release as I feel like it could have easily built an audience on strong word of mouth, it received very positive reviews at Sundance in 2008. From the Wikipedia page it looks like this may have been a result of the current financial times as the distributor went bankrupt. Here is to hoping that this gets some good traction on DVD and gets a decent cult following. I highly recommend checking this out. It deserved better than being dumped to DVD.

Assassination of a High School President
Directed by Brett Simon
Writen by Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski
Staring Mischa Barton, Reece Thompson, Melonie Diaz, and Bruce Willis

4 Stars out of a possible 5

Couples Retreat Review

2009-10-09T00:00:00.062-05:00

Couples Retreat follows four friends whose marriages are in various states of disrepair. Jason (Jason Bateman) and his wife Cynthia (Kristen Bell) reveal to their circle of friends that they are on the brink of divorce. The group, whom thought they were in for another power point presentation about testicular cancer, are shocked by the divorce bombshell. What follows is a pitch for the group to join them, thanks to the Pelican package at a group discount, on a last ditch effort to salvage their marriage on the tropical island paradise at a couples retreat known as Eden.

Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman, Watchmen) are the most stable couple of the group, with two kids and seemingly happy and busy lives that feel they don't have the time to take the trip. Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) have a daughter on her way to Stanford, and are counting down to the days that she leaves for school so that they can separate. Shane (Fazion Love) has already seen his marriage end in divorce and is currently trying to keep up with and seeing the 20 year old Trudy (Kali Hawk). After a breaking and entering incident and Dave and Ronnie's kids pleading with their parents to take the trip soon all the couples find themselves arriving at Eden a "place that looks like a screen saver."

Couples Retreat is the first feature length film form Peter Billingsley. His only previous directing credit was for his self written, directed, and starer a short film titled The Sacred Fire. Billingsley is more likely better known for his work in front of the camera, specifically as Ralphie Parker in the Cult '83 classic A Christmas Story. Billingsley has strong ties to Favreau behind the scenes, having produced Favreau's Zathura, Iron Man and IFC show Dinner of Five.

Retreat was written by stars Favreau and Vaughn in addition to Dana Fox who previously wrote the surprise 2008 hit What Happens in Vegas. Swingers duo Vaughn and Favreau are the highlights but the rest of the cast are just as funny. From Bateman's smothering Jason, to the very good Milan Akerman, who seems to be waiting for a break out roll to come her way. The geeks/fan boys love her thanks to her turn as Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II in Watchmen earlier this year, perhaps with the wider appeal of Retreat it will help propel her into more roles. All of the ladies in the film, Bell, Davis, and Hawk hold their own ensuring that they are not just reduced to eye candy running around in their bikinis and underwear. Faizon Love keeps easy pace with real life friends and co-stars Vaughn and Favreau in a role that gives him the most screen time I think he has received yet which he doesn't let go to waste.

Clocking in at close to two hours with a 1 hour and 47 minute run time, the pacing is good for how many different stories that are packed in for each of the couples. It just approaches overstaying its welcome but with little screen time being wasted each scene contributes to the various story elements in some way and keeps it from feeling overly long. There are a couple of kid potty jokes as well, which are the only scenes that don't necessarily build on anything but are hysterical. The film shoot mostly on location in Bora Bora does indeed look like a screen saver. Each scene on the island looks great, a nice reminder of warmer weather as fall temperatures have taken hold outside the multiplex, although it makes you wonder why this wasn't released in the summer.

There is one sticking point I have with the film. While well written it plays it a bit too safe and is completely predictable. The ending is what you would expect walking into a film like this. I would nearly recommend judging whether you should see this or not based on the trailer, it sets a very concise expectation of what you are in for. It also has committed to film one of the most detailed, accurate, and epic (non documentary) Guitar Hero showdowns/commercials around. Any other film that attempts to show Guitar Hero better take a look at this and take notes. It's obvious that those that shot this were either extremely familiar with the game, or Activison (the publisher behind the Guitar Hero franchise) were on set providing notes of how their product should be represented.

If you are a fan of Favreau and Vaughn's cult classic Swingers then this is worth your consideration. This is about as perfect of a date film as they come. It gives both the ladies and the men plenty to enjoy, it nearly feels as if it was designed by a committee of couples. This ultimately leaves me feeling about in the middle on the film. Its fun and funny, but it's like a fun size candy bar, its a quick fix but memory of it quickly fades and your still hungry or can't eat just one.

Couples Retreat 2.5 out of a possible 4

NIN Wave Goodbye LA's Henry Fonda Theater 9.8.09 & Wiltern 9.10.09

2009-10-04T15:54:00.020-05:00

Note: This is the final of my 'lost' NIN reviews/recaps of their final shows. I never got around to working (in earnest at least) on a recap of the final show at the Wiltern. Suffice it to say it was the most amazing show I had ever seen. I met some really cool people out in LA and after 22 NIN shows these final two were the best way I can think of to close out the live version of the band in my mind. This article isn't really complete so I apologize in advance. Just wanted what was there of it out there. I hope some enjoy it or at least find my perspective of this show insightful in some way.

After a somewhat typical set list at Sunday night's Echoplex show I wasn't sure what to expect after waiting in line for nearly 8 hours for the second to last show for Nine Inch Nails. Luckily I was in for a treat. The now second to last show on Tuesday, September 8th was a doozy, no less than 5 special guest were on stage at any given time with a 32 song set list spanning the entire NIN catalog. There were even a couple of songs that hadn't been heard since tours of the past and covers galore both with the artist that did the original and a cover of Gang of Fours Love Like Anthrax, that featured just about every guest of the evening and even opener HEALTH.

Speaking of HEALTH this was their second and final opening slot on the final leg of the Wave Goodbye tour, prior to departing on their own tour for their recently released (and recommended) Get Color. According to HEALTH's twitter feed they experienced some PA issues and there was certainly something amiss with their set as it didn't sound quite as good as it did at the Echoplex on Sunday, then again I didn't think NIN sounded that great, not the bands fault/performance, more on that shortly.

Health played pretty much the same set sans one or two changes. I am not familiar enough with their material to provide a set list but I do know they played Crimewave from their self titled debut and the excellent Die Slow from Get Color. Keeping their set to the typical short 30 or so minutes they wrapped up and stage prep began for NIN.
The NINWiki had leaked that there was rumor that there would be multiple guest at the show, and boy was he not mistaken. This was the first show on the tour that saw more than one guest join the band on stage at any given time. First to join the band was pianist Mike Garson. They played an amazing version of Just Like You Imagined from the Fragile. Being that the Fragility tour took place during the days of me thinking that the idea of traveling to see a band was crazy and missing the Kansas City tour stop for said tour this was the first time I had gotten to see the song performed live in the flesh (not counting it's recorded inclusion on the "and all that could of been..." DVD in 2002.

Garson would stay on stage to perform no less than six more songs, being joined on stage by Gary Neuman for his Down In the Park, after playing the piano version to a crowd that seemed a little dazed and lost as to the truly special moment that they were experiencing. Down in the park then segued into Metal and Neuman's most known hit, Cars. It was during Cars that Eric Avery of the recently reunited Jane's Addiction brought his thundering bass lines to the stage to join what was now a seven piece band.

After introducing Avery, the 7 piece was joined on stage by openers HEALTH for a cover of Gang of Fours Love like Anthrax, whether NIN was making up for rescheduling the show, or were aware this was the 2nd to the last show this was already quickly becoming one for the history books.

Once the Gang of Four cover was complete, Trent introduced former, or in his words NIN member Danny Lohner, who hadn't played with Trent live in my best estimation since the Fragility tour. They proceeded to play three tracks, two of which die-hards of the band always love live, Hersey and Mr. Self Destruct and one of NIN early covers, Queens Get Down Make love. Mr. Self Destruct had Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape plan join the band on stage for one of the most intense versions of the song I have ever bared witness to, thats saying quite a bit since this was NIN show 21 for me. Mr. Self Destruct gave way to another intense version of Wish that kept the energy high. At this point the opening beats of the now familiar final songs in a typical set list The Hand that feeds fired up as Lohner and Puciato left the stage.

The encore included a cover of Joy Division's Atmosphere which had been teased at the Echoplex but then not played. The Joy Division covers kept coming as next up was Dead Souls from The Crow soundtrack. The show was closed out with fan favorite The Day the Whole World Went Away, and well know Hurt.

NIN Wave Goodbye LA's The Echoplex 9.6.09

2009-10-04T15:37:00.018-05:00

NOTE: Another 'lost' review that never got a final polish for Lost in Reviews

What was once Nine Inch Nails final show had been moved to the second of the final four in Los Angeles. Being the smallest of the venues they were playing in LA even with the last minute schedule change this was still a highly sought after ticket due to many of those that weren't able to adjust their flight and hotel plans at the last minute as the reschedules had been announced a few short days earlier on Friday the 4.

Locally based space rockers, HEALTH were NIN front man Trent Reznor's hand-picked choice to open this show. The packed house gave them a warm welcome when they acknowledged that they were honored that Trent had invited them to open for him on his final shows and that they would play for a brief bit in order to get Nine Inch Nails on.

HEALTH's mix of spaz rock with thunderous pounding death metal style drum beats received an adverse reaction from the crowd, as has been the norm for most of the openers on this tour, all are there to see NIN for their final shows, the openers are nothing but filler. Really a shame, however, since the bands that Trent has selected are really top notch acts that have established their sound(MEW) or show quite a bit of promise based on the few releases they have had this far (The Horrors, HEALTH).

HEALTH kept their set short as promised and had their set wrapped up in a quick 30 minutes covering about a half and half mix of tracks from their latest release Get Color (Which I recommend checking out, specifically the track, 'Die Slow'), and their first self titled release.

At this point some shoving already began in the crowd, the Echoplex was easily the worst venue of this tour, smallest feeling? Yes, however the lay out and sight lines are absolutely the worst on this tour. In the end, I felt that it ended up being a blessing that this was not the venue to see NIN's final show "for the foreseeable future".

Venue complaints aside NIN's performance was good, albeit a bit typical of some of the other shows for this tour. Opening with the always electrifying "Somewhat Damaged" the capacity crowd crammed ever closer to the small stage in the small viewing area. Security at the front rail was distributing water as quickly as they could hand it out to those on the front rail. The temperature of the venue and the crush of people, I was surprised no one passed out.

The reschedules, which were due to doctors orders, reared their ugly head as to me Trent didn't seem to be 100%. At one point he even covered his head with a towel for several songs. Kudos to him for being one of the rare artist that gives his all for the fans. Even with Trent being less than 100% it's not to say this was any less of a show. Highlight of the evening was Gary Neuman joining the band on stage for the NIN cover/his original Metal, and then Neuman's own I die:you die.

All in all another solid show, due to the venue however and some D-Baggery in the crowd, fuck you Mr. buy thirty event shirts to sell on ebay at 250 a piece, rot in hell, I am happy band management cancelled your tickets at the following shows and instated a one event shirt per person policy.

I give this show 4 "D-bags rot in hell" out of 5.

NINYC: Wave Goodbye Bowery Ballroom 8.22.09

2009-10-04T15:35:00.009-05:00

NOTE: This similar to the Webster hall recap was originally completed for Lost in Reviews.

After this summer's NIN|JA/Wave Goodbye tour, North American Nine Inch Nails fans thought they had seen the last of the band. Upon completion of their set at Bonnaroo, where the New York Times quoted Reznor as saying “our last show ever in the United States.” The band was headed on to Europe. Mr. Reznor went on, “Don’t be sad. I’ll keep going. But I think I’m going to lose my” mind if “I keep doing this, and I have to stop.”

Was it all a Terrible Lie? As the second track of the nearly twenty year old 1989 release "Pretty Hate Machine" suggest? Lame puns/inferences aside on July 7th Reznor posted the following on NIN.com after a tease on his now defunct twitter account:

Getting right to the point, we're going to play a handful of shows in NYC, Chicago and LA starting August 22nd. They will be informal affairs in medium to small venues with longer set-lists, possible special guests, cool openers and other surprises.

Upon reflection, the NIN|JA tour felt like we had to rush through sets due to a limited allotted set length and many shows were in daylight - it just didn't feel right to end NIN that way. An offer to headline a festival (being announced soon) set the idea in motion to play some FUN shows to end this up with. If we can get it together we'll film these shows, too.

After the calamity of ticket sales, most of which took place directly through the band's website, leaving many die hard fans shut out begging, pleading, and even offering various favors for tickets, things kicked off as promised on August 22 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. A small club with a posted max capacity of 495.

Being a dedicated NIN fan of over seventeen years and thanks to some surprise last minute luck of the band releasing additional tickets to the shows the week of, I found myself in possession of tickets to the opening two shows of the final leg of the "Wave Goodbye" tour at the Bowery Ballroom and the following night at the 2,500 person capacity Webster Hall.

Flying into New York early Saturday morning I hopped on a shuttle that took me to my hotel that was within easy walking distance to both venues. Wandering by the Bowery on the way to grabbing some lunch at Katz delicatessen I found there were already about 35 or so fans waiting in line for a show, that was still 7 hours away. Of course this is not uncommon...when NIN is playing an arena that holds thousands, not a club that holds less than 500. I proceeded to get lunch and wait for a planned meet up of other NIN fans that post on various fan forums such as echoing the sound and the bands own forums on nin.com in addition to most of the staff to the awesome fan run NIN hotline.

I got to meet most all of the friendly staff of the NIN Hotline and the NIN wiki. Both sites should be the only non official sources considered for all things NIN. Both sites are constantly looked after and updated with sometimes even the slightest minutia of information during the slow times, which back in the pre- 'With Teeth' days were numerous due to the typical long lead times between NIN's output. It was an honor meeting these diligent friendly folks who keep die hards like me updated with even small morsels of information, but don't get caught up in all the TMZ like obsession and detail non required personal information of the artist involved.

Arriving a good 2 hours prior to show time the line was already stretching down toward the end of the block and beginning to wrap around the corner. Getting in line, I began the "NINgating" part of my experience, chatting with those around me about other shows they have attended and anticipation of that evenings set list and the potential for the special guest that Reznor had teased. David Bowie was heavily rumored, based on little evidence as far as I can gather. Even though NIN fan base is most commonly stereo typed as being angst ridden goths, many of their most die hard fans are just the common every day person who I find to be very friendly once you strike up a conversation with them.
Biding my time until I received my event specific wrist band and ticket I continued waiting until it was finally time to file into the venue. Knowing going in that this was a very small venue I don't think I had mentally prepared myself for just how small and intimate it would truly be.

None of NIN's equipment fit on stage and there seemed to barely be enough room for the band themselves. Making my way into the venue and acquiring the venue/event specific shirt I settled in about midway back from the stage.

After opener The Horrors completed their 30 minute set punctuated by the highlights from their only release, and this writer's recommended, Primary Colors it was time for Reznor and his current band to take the stage. The final incarnation of Nine Inch Nails consist of Robin Finck, guitar, synth, vocals; Justin Medal Johnson, bass, guitar, synth, vocals; and Ilan Rubin, drums and anything that is not a guitar, and of course Trent Reznor who for all intents and purposes is NIN when not touring.
Opening with the house lights left on, and catching quite a few in the crowd off guard to their taking of the stage, they opened the set with the quiet intro to the track Somewhat Damaged from 1999's double LP the Fragile. The song with it's intense, brutal chorus and marching like beat sent the entire crowd into a frenzy jumping in unison to the beat and literally causing the entire floor to shake once it arrived. It was quite a sight to behold seeing the waves of people moving in unison with the song, feeling the floor tremble beneath my feet. During the first breakdown in the song, the stage rush took place and a new wave of people suddenly crushed into spaces were there used to be room for two to three.

Next was the very apropos Beginning of the End off of 2007's Year Zero. The blistering pace and energy of the crowd remained intense into the heavy and rarely performed live 'Last' from 1992's Broken EP, which I had always wanted to see live and now finally have.

There was a bit of break from the moshing and jumping for dancer tracks The Collector from 2006's With Teeth and Discipline from 2008's The Slip. The break was short lived however as the opening drum beats to mosh anthem 'March of The Pigs' kicked up immediately at the end of 'Discipline'. This sent the sold out crowd at the Bowery into another intense frantic swirl. For a band that was starting the first show on their "final" tour, watching this show you sure couldn't tell. As a decent size pit whipped up for March, you almost began to believe everything was all right as part of the chorus infers, the intimate venue, the intense crowd it was nearly perfect.

The remainder of the set contained a good mix of Nail's 20 year history only leaving the instrumental only Ghosts Vols. I-IV out. Following March was Something I can Never Have from the aforementioned Pretty Hate Machine. It would prove not to be the final track to make an appearance from the release that started it all. Reznor '(took) things back to 1989' with 'Down In It' and set list main stay, 'Head Like A Hole'. 1992's Broken had several tracks from it's short track listing 'Gave Up' & 'Wish'. Tracks from what many consider to be Reznor's masterpiece 1994's The Downward Spiral was well represented with 'Reptile', 'The Downward Spiral', 'Heresy' and 'Hurt'. A couple of tracks from soundtracks also made an appearance with the Joy Division cover of 'Dead Souls' from The Crow, and 'Burn' from theNatural Born Killers soundtrack. Another highlight of the evening was the band's cover of Saul Williams, and Reznor produced, 'Banged And Blown Through' from Williams' 2008 release The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!

It was pretty strange, but awesome to see the band on such a small stage. At one point Reznor conceeded "I have no where to hide, like I usually do, to go off and drink some tea." Overal, lt was an awesome, energetic show, however somewhat typical setlist-wise considering what was promised. My anticipation and expectations for the show at Webster Hall were now set high, and they certainly were met.

Set List Bowery Ballroom Saturday August 22, 2009
1. Somewhat Damaged
2. The Beginning Of The End
3. Last
4. The Collector
5. Discipline
6. March Of The Pigs
7. Something I Can Never Have
8. Reptile
9. Meet Your Master
10. Banged And Blown Through
11. Burn
12. Gave Up
13. La Mer
14. Non-Entity
15. Gone, Still
16. The Downward Spiral
17. Wish
18. Heresy
19. Survivalism
20. Down In It
21. Hurt
22. The Hand That Feeds
23. Head Like A Hole
Encore
24. Echoplex
25. The Good Solider
26. Dead Souls
27. In This Twilight

I give the Bowery Ballroom Wave Goodbye show 4 "wow this place is tiny!"(s) out of 5

All pictures were used from Malechite (aka the NIN wiki)'s Flickr page. Check it out for some great photos from the NY shows. Bowery Photos Webster Hall Photos

NINYC: Wave Goodbye Webster Hall 8.23.09

2009-10-04T15:27:00.010-05:00

NOTE: I had written this to be used on Lost in Reviews but didn't get it warped up in a timely manner and I didn't really care for it that much. Having put the time into it however I didn't want it to go to waste. Thus after clearing it with my LIR editor they okayed me posting it here. So enjoy, and don't get to harsh in the comments if you think it sucks. - John

After an intense show, but fairly typical set list at the Bowery the night before, I wondered what night two might hold for the Wave Goodbye tour. After three songs in, I started to have a sneaking suspicion that we were in for something special.

The Horrors were the opener and played the same set list from the previous night. They sounded better here than they did the previous night. Both nights were good, but this show felt tighter. If you are a fan of their album, (and recommended) Primary Colours, they do a surprisingly good job of pulling off the sound from it live.

NIN opened with the lead track from 94's Downward Spiral, Mr. Self Destruct. This was followed by the tracks that followed it on the album Piggy and Heresy. By the time March of The Pigs kicked up on song four I was all but certain that the band was playing the entire album live.

This was a first, it was also the first time that the song A Warm Place made its live debut. The show, which similar to the Bowery Ballroom show the previous night, only had it's tickets sold directly through the band's website and was 18+ up had a crowd that certainly seemed aware that they were experiencing history. This was one of the most energetic, enthusiastic crowds I have ever been apart of.

Trent Reznor took a moment to recognize the moment and confirm what all in the audience realized. Stating that he had always wanted to play The Downward Spiral in its entirety, and would never do it again. In actuality he would do it again a few shows later. This was due to the fact that concert/venue/promotion monopoly Live Nation was wanting to charge the band exorbitant usage fees to film this night's show. Which as best I know is the only show not recorded on the entire 10 dates in the US.

Amazingly, The Downward Spiral was only about half of the set list. Surprising, considering how intense the album is and how draining it was. It didn't help either that it felt like it was about 100 degrees in the venue. This may easily be the best NIN show out of twenty that I have ever seen, it certainly set the bar pretty high for the remaining 5 shows I was going to attend. It's hard to put into words how awesome this show really was. It was as if I had attended my first NIN show all over again. I nearly passed out from heat exhaustion after the show, but it was all worth it.

Set List Webster Hall 8.23.2009
1. Mr. Self Destruct
2. Piggy
3. Heresy
4. March Of The Pigs
5. Closer
6. Ruiner
7. The Becoming
8. I Do Not Want This
9. Big Man With A Gun
10. A Warm Place
11. Eraser
12. Reptile
13. The Downward Spiral
14. Hurt
15. 1,000,000
16. Terrible Lie
17. Metal
18. Lights In The Sky
19. Burn
20. Gave up
21. Suck
22. Physical
23. The Hand That Feeds
24. Head Like A Hole

I give the Webster Hall show a perfect 5 "best show eVaR!" out of 5.

All pictures were used from Malechite (aka the NIN wiki)'s Flickr page. Check it out for some great photos from the NY shows. Bowery Photos Webster Hall Photos

Whip It on strong with girl power

2009-10-02T03:00:00.007-05:00

Whip It is the coming of age story of 17 year old Bliss Cavendar. Raised by low income, working class parents in Bodeen Texas. Her mother is a former beauty pageant queen and is grooming Bliss and her younger sister Shania to become queens themselves. Bliss is pretty uninterested in following in her mothers foot steps and is a misfit in a pretty hick country town, were she works at a restaurant named the Oink Joint, home of the Texas sized squealer sandwich, with close friend Pash.

A shopping trip to Austin with her mother and sister lets Bliss catchs a glimpse of something she hasn't quite experienced in her life. Members of the local roller derby league skate in obviously having a fun time as they drop off flyers for their next match at the store. Bliss enamored with their appearance sneaks one into her purse and gets Pash to go with her to the match. At the match between the Hurl Scouts and the Holy Rollers Bliss watches on in amazement. After the match she approaches Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) and tells her that they are her new heroes. Maggie encourages Bliss to attend try outs the following Tuesday, which is apprehensive about due to not having skated since having Barbie skates. Maggie urges her to attend any way and soon finds her way onto the Hurl Scouts.

Finding her way on to the team Bliss soon falls in love with her new found popularity and fellow 'scouts' as she fits in more in Austin and the world of roller derby than she does back home. Keeping her derby life secret from her family, and her actual age from her derby family eventually she has to come clean.

First time director Drew Barrymore, who is also part of the ensemble cast, does pretty well for her first time out. Based on the book Derby Girl written by Shauna Cross, who also handles screen writing duties the story is a fun, although some what typical coming of age story. It beats getting to formulaic thanks to the infectious fun had on screen that quickly seeps into the theater.

There were some very minor continuity errors I noticed and I am not sure if it was part of the editing, or an aesthetic choice but it seemed like all the characters wore between 2-3 outfits for the entire film. It's a minor thing but something I noticed.

I was a fan of just about ever character and the casting in the film, but its borderline crowded. Academy Award nominee Ellen Page (Juno) plays Bliss, who we spend the entire time with, I can't think of a moment in the film where she wasn't involved in some way. Alia Shawkat is close friend Pash, who just want's to have fun and get away to college as quickly as possible. The Hurl Scouts consist of Wiig, Barrymore, Eve, Zoe Bell (Death Proof), and members of the L.A. Derby Dolls Kristen Adolfi and Rachel Piplica as the Manson Sisters. Juliette Lewis plays the lead jammer on the two year league champion Holy Rollers and has a chip on her sholuder regarding Bliss's quick rising in the ranks of the league.

The real stand out in the cast is Kristen Wiig. It was a nice change to see her step out of the quite wife role and play a strong, independent, and mentoring woman. Problem is we don't get enough of her. Considering the interesting characters on the Hurl Scouts its a shame more time was spent with each of them to flesh out their characters more. Instead they are nothing more than interchangeable stereotypical characters that could be easily swapped out. Prime case in point, The Manson sisters are setup as two not to be reckoned with former hockey players, from Canada, that are deaf. Interesting right? Only thing is that after this setup they are more or less abandoned other than a few short seconds here or there during the match footage.

This is unfortunate since so much time is spent with Page's Bliss. Even some moments that I could have completely done without, a lingering shot or two comes to mind. The obvious cheating boy friend plot, with Landon Pigg, a real life musician, which is what he plays in the film looks like a terrible actor playing against Academy nominated Page. The entire boy friend sub plot could have been easily excessed and the film would have been better for it. I felt the only purpose it served was to show girls, hey look! you can leave him and not get tied up in his lying BS drama. The only positive thing I can say about the relationship was that it lead to a pretty cool underwater make out session, but that too went on a bit long for my taste.

There is too much Jimmy Fallon in this movie. I also felt that some of Andrew Wilson's coach Blazer one liners were awkwardly cut into the film, mainly during the try outs portion of the film.

I give the film high marks for having a pretty heavy indie soundtrack, although given the world its about and the characters it fits well. The film also seems to be in love with it's location of Austin. A trip to the Alamo Drafthouse is in the film in addition to Austin being name dropped numerous times throughout the film.

I know it seems I was rather harsh with Whip it. Thing is I felt like it could have been so much more than it was. That is not to say i didn't enjoy it, I did, but just wanted more of the derby world and the interesting characters that fill it than what was given.

Out of a possible 4 stars I give Whip It 2.5

A month with the HP Mini 110

2009-10-02T02:53:00.000-05:00

Since I was out of town the last three weekends following NIN around, I quickly found myself falling behind on work for Lost in Reviews. Being that Lost in Reviews is a "cloud" style effort since it all runs on Word Press all I needed was something with solid net access to keep up with my work that I needed to get done.

Enter the HP Mini 110. Wanting to purchase a Netbook that was also Hackintosh friendly, and due to the short amount of time I had, 2 days to prep it prior to leaving. It became a pretty obvious choice due to being readily available at local Target stores.

Having now used the computer running in dual boot with Windows 7 Ultimate and OS X I can say that the machince has exceded my expectations. I went in with pretty low hopes, since on paper the little netbook that could shouldn't be able to run either of these OS'es decently. The small foot print, not to mention small processor (Intel Atom processor "up to 1.6 Ghz") and small memory 1 gig of ram are what gave me little faith. Luckily this turned out to be perfect to run the setup, with light tasking. that I have loaded to it now. I still need to monkey with my OS X install and get it running more to my satisfaction but Windows 7 has made this Apple convert take notice. Yes it still has it's limitations and annoyances but it runs beautifully on the little netbook that could. I have even had friends and family running Vista stare on as I use Windows 7 playing 20 questions about it. I just feel bad since I haven't used Vista extensively and can't really say what is better or different about 7.

Much of what made netbook so great was the ability to tether my phone to it for any where on the go internet. Since first using this I have since flashed a different rom to my phone and I seem to have broken tethering. I am researching what is causing the error, but this has detracted from my enjoyment of the netbook a bit. Luckily since Wi-Fi is pretty much ubiquitous these days it hasn't been much of a problem jumping online just about anywhere. Any more I find my self taking the little thing with me just about everywhere I go. I even cringed as I had a thought that I finally "got it" about people that sit in coffee shops all day pounding away at the keyboard. I am so used to being chained to a desktop that the concept seemed ridiculous to me, until now. At least I haven't become 'that guy' and done it yet however.

In closing if you have writing duties that require more than a smart phone to bang out a post this is the perfect solution. On a plane, or anywhere its decently sized, light, portable and the screen is just big enough to get task done. Just don't plan on having copious amounts of windows open and familiarize your self with the windows + tab key. It's pretty affordable, although some full fledge laptops reach these price points so really determine what you want to do with it. The 6 cell battery of this model last a solid 5-6 hours even charging my phone. This is a nice stop gap until I finally ditch my iMac and purchase a full fledge Macbook in the next couple of years.

Liked
Small size, ultra portable: I don't mind carrying this around at all. Not the same could be said for an old 15" compaq lap top I had about 8 years ago.

Internet any where: If you have a phone you can tether you can literally have the net anywhere as long as you have signal. Even if you don't the on board Wi-Fi has an external on/off switch and picks up signal very well.

Battery: I was impressed with how long the batter on this last. I never really stress tested the system but for what I use it for its just right.

Disliked
Small Size: The 10" screen occasionally bumps up against harming productivity. I found my self using the full screen browser mode more than I ever have.

Touch Pad: For some reason the click buttons are on the left and right not on top like most. Also the scroll functionality of the touch pad is inconsistent. I have adjusted the settings for it but can't seem to find a sweet spot for it.

Funky power and Wi-Fi on/off switches: I just don't care for them. Awkwardly placed to me and I can never quite tell when I have gotten it pushed far enough to turn on or not.

AMC Mainstreet, the best addition to the Power and Light district?

2009-04-23T09:18:00.005-05:00

Butt shaker seats, full flavor soda and popcorn condiment bar, and top of the line digital projection welcome to your new movie going experience, downtown of all places.

Liked

Butt shaker seats, I really didn’t think this would add as much to the movie as it did. It helps push the immersion level of the film to a completely new level. Being that the cinema suites feature 11-(!) channel audio this is as close as you can get to experience a movie short of going to a movie theme park.

The history, having seen some pictures form an “urban explorer” who had gotten into the theater prior to any work beginning on it when I first stepped into the theater I thought the interior had been gutted loosing all the old architecture. While true, some architectural changes were made it is obvious that an effort was made to keep much of the original building in place. Right down to the old spotlight platform from its vaudevillian days.

Digital projection, like it or not the days of film are slowly but surely ending. Gone are the projection rooms of huge drums of film. Welcome to the digital age of server rooms and a projectionist who does nothing more than press a button. It was pretty amazing to find out as well that AMC can pull up any digital projector from their home office to verify that quality is where it should be.

That AMC feeling, being that I am a fan of AMC theaters in general if you like the way they do things; this is more of the same with more. The popcorn flavor salts, and soda flavors (neither of which I got to try, but can’t wait to go back and do so) are a new addition, it is also self serve so you can mix things to your liking. It’s nice to see beer and wine available at the concession stand. No more need to attend VIP areas in order to enjoy a nice cold beer while watching a film. There was also some fresh fruit offered with yogurt and an assortment of nuts to go with the typical boxed candies. I also noted that concession prices are in line with those of suburban theaters. Sure pricey but encouraging to see that there wasn’t a Power and Light district tax ($6 dollar bottled Blvd. Beer any one?) like some other establishments in P&L. Here is to hoping that they also offer the Monday through Friday popcorn special, that their suburban counterparts do.

Disliked

Cinema suite service, Being a newer concept I found several occasions where the servers where a distraction while viewing the film. I have previously attended a screening at the fork and screen theaters out in Olathe and found the setup a little less distraction inducing due to its lay out. I hope that this is just an early growing pain/training opportunity that works it’s self out.

Pricing Structures, if I order a soda at the bar its 2 dollars (I want my 2 dollars!, name the flick!) theater pricing along the lines of 3-4 dollars. I know that theaters turn a good majority of their profit from concession sales but it was just odd for such a discrepancy in the same place. Something tells me you will not be able to take drinks from the Marquee bar into the theaters, if they do however it’s the way to go. Glass > Paper cup.

The AMC Mainstreet is a fantastic addition to the Power and Light district, if not to my movie loving heart the best. My summer movie season just got 100x better being that I can now walk 4 blocks to Thursday night midnight screenings. Also nice to know while AMC is a large company it's still local unlike many other business in the P&L district so my money will stay in Kansas City.

The AMC Mainstreet Theater opens May 1, with a midnight screening of Wolverine.

2009-02-09T23:57:00.003-06:00

Gorilla Suit Day 2009 Kansas City

Info on Gorilla Suit day

Rambling...

2009-01-19T19:10:00.003-06:00

Thoughts about several things I have read or done over the last couple of days. If you follow me on twitter most of this is non news.

Its sad that the Quaff was so dead Friday night after the initial happy hour crowd. It wasn't quite the fire alarm but darn close. I hate power and light, and what I experienced Friday night can't be good for the Quaff.

Harry's Country Club is one of my favorite bars in town. Great beer selection, great whisky selection and good food, doesn't hurt either that it is a local owned business. Just say no to corporate bars and support Harry's. They are also part of the Kansas City Originals.

One of my other favorites Fred P. Ott's on the plaza had it's usual great Sunday night concert series with the Black Diamond Heavies Sunday night. I got there way to early at 8PM and proceeded to drink my self silly until about half way through their set when I cut my self off. If there ever was a band that encouraged one to drink however, they are one.

Five Guys Burgers and fries is pretty terrific for a fast service burger. To bad they are only in the burbs and thus I won't be going there often.

Detroit is building cars I would actually consider purchasing. Some I wish I could afford.

I may be moving across the state line, but ultimately staying in a Kansas City.

I am now on Facebook and Myspace....

2008-11-20T10:58:00.001-06:00

On the road again...

Why I am voting on Tuesday...

2008-11-02T11:02:00.001-06:00

Free Krispy Kream Doughnut

Free Starbucks (I don't even drink coffee)

Most Chick Fill A's are giving away free chicken sandwiches.

Now thats voting for change, free stuff for a day!

Note sarcasm really doesn't work to well typed

TVOTR @ P&L

2008-11-01T14:09:00.002-05:00

TVOTR was in town last night for the Buzz Halloweene roast. I had seen them the last time they came through town and played the Voodoo lounge. Overall it was a really good show, albeit a very loud one. Lately most shows I go to the acoustics are such, or my hearing damaged enough to not be bothered much by the volume. However a good 8 hours after the show my ears are still ringing. As a quick rant on the P&L it's okay for a live venue. The surrounding noise from the other clubs during breaks in songs was really fricking aggravating. It was also annoying to be around the common P&L dbags there just to be there and not necessarily there for the band and music.

It was pretty cool that TVOTR had some fun with the fact that it was halloween having created a little short about their tour bus being cursed since it was constructed on an ancient indian burial ground (think poltergeist) and thus turning each of them into some character. David was dressed as a ginger bread man for the duration of the main set which was impressive as I am sure it had to be damn hot. He was standing near a fan for most of this portion of the set. Tunde was a zombie something couldn't really tell for sure but it was pretty crazy. Kyp was dressed like santa which was awesome. Jaleel had the zombie look going on. The guy on the horns was a zombie munk. Gerard played it straight donning no makeup or costume. During Playhouses a girl in a white shirt came out and started pouring blood all over her self during the course about opening your heart and leting it bleed on yours. It was pretty rad. The encore had the dirtbombs and quite a few of the TVOTR crew come out on stage (including the bloody girl, still in the blood stained white shirt) and rip through a really great rendition of Let the Devil In.

All in all it was a pretty good time and show. By the time the show was over the line waiting to get into the P&L was freaking ridiculous going halfway down the block, most every one in it looking like a d-bag. I still dislike the place and don't see myself warming to it anytime soon, its just not my type of place.

What? TVOTR

Where? Power & Light Kansas City live!

When? Friday October 31, 2008

If it wasn't already obvious

2008-10-26T10:30:00.001-05:00

That's going to do it for the live blog trial tonight. I plan to do more when I hit the road latter on in November or next time there is something worth doing/covering.

Basil Hyadens @ M&S Grill

2008-10-25T21:11:00.001-05:00

Best burbon in the world.

Food stands @ waterfire

2008-10-25T20:15:00.001-05:00

Lets be honest, these things arent held for the "artful" aspect of them. There a reason to get drunk in public.

Tigger sighting

2008-10-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

He's on the loose...

Theres lots of fire...

2008-10-25T19:43:00.001-05:00

Thus the name

Flexy chicks binding and a sheet....

2008-10-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

YES!!!!

KC loves its flamming turds....

2008-10-25T19:24:00.000-05:00

We shut down streets for this....

Live bloging flaming turds...

2008-10-25T18:58:00.001-05:00

Heeading to Firewater, going to try liveblogging some of it to see how it goes.

Starting out the evening right.....

To further prove my online insignificance

2008-10-25T14:48:00.001-05:00

I have also started a tumblr blog.

Kansas City's mayor won't talk to local constituents!!!

2008-10-25T13:41:00.003-05:00

TKC vs Funky round 2... this time on light rail. Last time was crime...

BATShit crazy in JOCO

2008-10-25T12:40:00.002-05:00

The KC Business Journal reports that BATS (once a Kansas City proper company, that relocated to *sigh* JOCO) has gone live. Beware of rabies.

Free Taco Bell Tuesday!!

2008-10-25T12:32:00.003-05:00

From Hot blog on a stick, Thanks to Tampa Bay Rays Short Stop Jason Batlett in the fifth inning on Oct. 22 Taco Bell will be giving away a free taco this tuesday.

Brookfield building, not so pretty now...

2008-10-25T12:24:00.004-05:00

Way behind on this but it might explain why the pretty pictures pooped up in the windows recently. The current downtown blight that is the Brookfield Building is allegedly being redeveloped. Lets see if it actually happens in the current economy. I sure hope it does.

A look at some local KC bloggy links

2008-10-25T11:38:00.004-05:00

More reasons to vore no on the billion dollar light rail system in ten days....

Billion dollar question.....pop video edition

Way smarter than me blogger Nick sloan has a couple of takes.

On the Fence Light Rail voters

Taking a look at the opposition group and those backing light rail.

Prime Buzz takes a look at actuall ridership numbers at other cites that have taken the monorail errrr light rail chalenge.

Wow lots of power brokers pushing for this city to spend a billion, and have some of the highest taxes in the nation. Oh yea by the way ridership numbers won't even be known until after the election. Thats great and also something else to consider.

I really don't agree with JOCOSOB on a great many things but he has some really great things to ponder in this random questions post.

I am way behind on this weeks reading...I am sure there will be some more coming up.

I don't support P&L but I do support local business

2008-10-20T12:19:00.003-05:00

I am pretty anti P&L these days. Hey its trendy to be so. None the less its still worth noting that this is the first District Restaurant Week. Go down there and enjoy some of the locally owned and operated establishments, Chefburger and The Bristol. The rest could rot for all I care.

Kansas City's steak scene is blowing up!

2008-10-20T12:13:00.002-05:00

To add to the already all too used pun for this, The Herford House is well done.

New blog I will be adding to the read list Hot Blog on a Stick has some coverage. The always excellent Midtown Miscreant also has some coverage.

Let me take this time to mention that the best steak I have had in KC is the Phillips Chop House.

A look at the Kansas City ballot

2008-10-19T21:37:00.001-05:00

Kansas City Sample Ballot for Nov. 4 Don't forget your vote.

Light Rail follow up

2008-10-01T12:09:00.002-05:00

Looks like an opposition group has formed!!! Woo Hoo!

TKC Talks about it here and here

And Prime buzz covers it here

As far as the groups go the pro group is out gunning the no group by a good amount. I hope every one that is voting in KC on this really thinks it over and considers other viable cheaper options than light rail. Over the last several weeks several have come up. I don't want to be misunderstood that I do not support a form of rapid transit other than the Max which is currently offered. I just look at the current offer on the table the cost of it, and other cities that have done the same and what the long term cost have been.

Random Notes on things....

2008-09-28T21:43:00.002-05:00

Beck with MGMT tomorrow at The Uptown, expect a review some time this week. Hitting Blanc Burger Bottles (if you haven't tried it yet, you should your missing out) prior to the show with some friends should be fun.

My buddy MatthewKC and I were discussing starting a podcast. Likely hood of happening? I would guess about 100 to 1, but if some comments could motivate me? Who knows?

Busy week ahead, Beck Monday as mentioned, Religulous screening Tuesday (Note: Santogold is playing Lawrence this day also, if only it wasn't such a drive and I had some one to go to I would do this over the movie.) Thursday Southland Tales screening at my place for friends, Friday typical drinking shenanigans.

On a side note, I made the most amazing discovery this weekend. The pre-made ham and cheese sandwich from Sams Club. 12 to a box, for a single ham and cheese loving guy like me it made my day, nah the weekend.

Review: Jim Gaffigan: Sexy Tour/My first trip to the Midland(that I remember)

2008-09-28T21:00:00.005-05:00

What? Jim Gaffigan: Sexy Tour @ The Midland Theater 8PM Friday 9/26/08

To be honest prior to attending Friday nights show I wasn't familiar with much of Jim's material. I was aware that he was the "hot pockets" guy primarily known for having many jokes associated with my single guy food staple. Otherwise that was about it. Truth be told had it not been for Bulls-eye calling me on Wednesday night and asking me to the show I probably would have missed it. A special thanks to her for the call, the tickets, and the fun evening. The opener who had about 15 mins on stage did a really great job of warming up the crowd for the main event. Kind of wish I would have caught his name but oh well.

The show was a riot, at one point I was literally doubled over, head throbbing from lack of oxygen, tears in my eyes laughing. This was brought on by the "its not to late to make a second bad choice/mistake in the night" trip to the Waffle House joke. I also enjoyed Jim's ongoing third person lady in the audience self depreciating gag that ran through out the shows material. The crowd really seemed to eat up most of the material. I was pretty surprised by the fact that I even spotted a couple of families with older tween to teen kids in the crowd.

The Midland its self is an amazing space. This was my first trip there since I was a child for some kind of haunted house/phantom of the opera kind of thing. I faintly recall my last visit other than it scaring the bejesus out of me as a kid. I am not sure how much work the place needed but its an amazing space. So much so that I was actually looking for other shows there that I might be inclined to go to just for the mere fact the venue is cool enough to put me over the line of the "well, I would like to go but I have a movie/TV show to watch" type of thing. The two shows I was looking at were Geroge Lopez October 12 & Video Games Live November 1. Also worth noting is how cool a bar the indie on main is. The drink prices (as with the rest of the P&L) are out of control two drinks costing me what a night at Ott's would. That aside, the actual bar has a nice vibe and I love the design of the place.

I leave this with a Hot Pockets moment from Jim

Well, Bummer....

2008-09-28T20:58:00.004-05:00

It looked like KC was well on its way to avoiding another murder this weekend. Looks like we just couldn't do it.