Discussing Film, Music, TV, Books, Video Games and More
When I was little my sister and I spent hours and hours each week riding our bikes around the neighborhood, making up stories to build a world around the simple activity. They obviously weren’t the best stories, but we were kids; so what’s Premium Rush’s excuse? [Read more...]
The Hangover Part II could have easily been one of the best comedies of the summer, but instead of embracing the challenge of besting the first film, it hides behind the popularity of its predecessor, becoming nothing more than an uninspired copy.
The film opens up on Phil exclaiming that “it happened again,” and these words could only be truer had he said, “All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.” But I don’t really take him to be a Battlestar Galactica fan. Point is, the writers are obviously a fan of Mad Libs and draw from this passion to create this sequel: While celebrating [name]’s impending wedding in [location], Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up in a hotel room having no recollection of the night before. While looking around the room they realize that [name] is missing, Stu has [alteration to face], and they have somehow come into possession of a [animal]. At some point they believe that they have found the missing person, but when they go to the [location] to retrieve him they realize it is not the same person. Mr. Chow jumps out of the [container] to attack them, [no-no bits] are all around, and when all leads have been explored something clicks and they realize the missing person was on/in the [location] the whole time. The end. [Read more...]
As you have probably seen in our reviews of Sucker Punch, Lauren and I both quite like this film, but feel like it needs to be dissected further to get to its full worth. So that is why we are here partaking in a big spoiler filled discussion of Zack Snyder’s new film that will hopefully help you further appreciate the film as it has for us. It could also very well tear it down at the same time in this case, so without further ado let’s get into it.
!!!!!SPOILERS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE ARTICLE!!!!!
Sit tight kiddies, Lauren has got some rambling to do. Last year I got to sit through a bunch of amazing panels (and some lackluster ones too) at Comic-Con for upcoming movies during my camping session in Hall H, and one of the highlights was finally getting to see a trailer for Sucker Punch. In a nutshell, my mind exploded from overstimulation. During that gap of time between then and now my excitement continued to grow, eventually peaking at the “THIS BETTER BE AWESOME OR I’M GONNA DIE!” point. A little extreme, I’ll admit, but I was far from capable of controlling my excitement at this point, leaving little margin for error come time to watch it. Long story short: I set myself up for disappointment. Short story longer: once the movie was over I found myself frustrated at what was not achieved and I could not stop picking out the negatives that were pushing me deeper and deeper into my pit of despair. Well, that was last night. Tonight I am a little more level headed and I can honestly say that I have come to terms with a lot of my issues and have found my way back to liking the movie. Not loving it, but hey, I’ll still pat myself on the back for the progress I’ve made. [Read more...]
Sucker Punch will have you wondering “why should I care” as you watch Zack Snyder’s beautiful film unfold, only to confound and confuse even further as it simultaneously saves the film from being narratively pointless in the end.
That above sentence doesn’t seem to be high praise, but the more I think and talk about this film the more I find myself liking it. The film follows a young girl, Baby Doll, as she is wrongfully committed to a female institution for the mentally insane. The film’s set up is fantastic and we are quickly thrust into Baby Doll’s fantasy world as she finds herself on the wrong end of a lobotomy. Now, I know that last bit sounds spoilery but we get to that point fifteen minutes in so don’t worry. In Baby Doll’s fantasy all the girls at the institution are still prisoners of their surroundings but instead are living in a gentlemen’s club/brothel of some sort. The girls in the fantasy world plot an attempt to get out of this prison and must retrieve four objects to do so. So where do all of those crazy action set pieces you keep seeing in the commercials come into play? Those would be Baby Doll’s fantasies, inside the existing fantasy, that she has when she and the girls (Sweet Pea, Blondie, Rocket, and Amber) are attempting to get the items they need for escape. That’s right, a dream within a dream.
The Spierig Brothers get a bit of money to work with and create a wonderfully realized world in which vampires make up the majority of the earth’s … (more...)
Kon-Tiki is a pretty straight forward biopic in its construction, but it tells an incredible story that allows some gorgeous imagery. … (more)
J.J. Abrams is back for another trek into Star Trek and fans of his first entry will have little to complain about with Into Darkness. … (more)
Baz Luhrmann brings The Great Gatsby to the big screen with a style and visual wonder that is irresistible, even when the story doesn't connect as … (more)
Upstream Color is now available to everyone, so I thought it's about time to break it down to the best of my abilities to help fuel the conversation. … (more)
Iron Man 3 isn't really an Iron Man movie for much of its run time, but that doesn't stop it from being an entertaining and hilarious ride from nearly … (more)
Love them or hate them, Vampire Weekend’s latest album Modern Vampires of the City is a must listen of 2013. … (more)
Allison Weiss latest effort Say What You Mean brings a punky charm to a rather plastic singer/songwriter scene. … (more)
Iron and Wine continues his road down the glossy, highly produced road with Ghost on Ghost. This time around, however, he knocks this album out of … (more)
Kid Cudi third rap album Indicud reminds us just how unique and fun the former G.O.O.D. Music artist is, as he rides in and out of the most unique … (more)
Fall Out Boy comes out of hiding to release Save Rock and Roll, their highly anticipated fifth full length that doesn’t fall flat when it comes to … (more)
Daenerys army continues to grow, Samwell Tarly displays his brave side, Ser Davos becomes literate and Sansa's last name is Lannister in this … (more)
As I wipe the tears from my eyes, I think it is safe to say that Arrow knows how to end a season. … (more)
Right before our eyes, Jaime Lannister has gone from being one of the most hated, to one of the most respectable characters in the Game of Thrones … (more)
The new HBO show from Christopher Guest and his gang gets off to a great start that shows a lot of promise for the future. … (more)
Apparently, modern day witch hunts do exist. In case you haven’t heard the story of the West Memphis Three, now is your chance to read all about … (more)
Ross Matthews is right about one thing – any self-confidence he feels about his writing skills is without a doubt delusional. He’d have to be … (more)
Yes, this might possibly be (i.e., definitely is) yet another World War II book review that you by now have probably come to expect from me; but … (more)
I am really struggling to come up with an introduction that does this book justice, because to me, Me Before You was perfection. … (more)
Ken Levine deserves some kind of medal. First, he introduced us to the world of Rapture, where we would kindly roam the halls of a forgotten city … (more)
Plagued by delays and shortcomings, 2012 was an up-and-down year for video games. We saw triumphant returns to form, fantastic new IP's, and some … (more)
For future reference: when skydiving, be sure that your projected landing zone doesn’t happen to be an island full of evil pirates that are more … (more)