Discussing Film, Music, TV, Books, Video Games and More
Maybe it’s just me, but personally a title to a film leaves a big impression, which is why I wasn’t that excited for this sequel. Taken 2? Really? We couldn’t get more creative than that? It doesn’t need to be anything ridiculous, like Taken 2 the Bowels of Istanbul or Stop Taken My Family, though I personally would have loved the latter. Let’s just try to be a little less boring. [Read more...]
Alright people, it’s almost the end of the year – which means some big releases are coming out. Some of the biggest albums, movies, and video games are slatted for release, making for one incredible last quarter in 2012. Enough of this, let’s get to our selections. [Read more...]
Lauren: I have to admit something right now, as a child I got really competitive when it came to Battleship. Each time I would swear I came up with the best distribution for my ships to trick my opponent, and would gleefully laugh in my mind when I would get to put a white peg of fail in the waters surrounding my fleet (obviously playing it cool on the outside). With that said, nothing was going to give me more pleasure than being able to bombard this movie with red pegs, shouting at the top of my lungs… wait for it… “YOU SUNK MY BATTLESHIP!” Original, I know, but don’t mess with the classics. [Read more...]
2010’s Clash of the Titans may not be the best film by far, but for a blockbuster with quite the action and visual effects filled center, it is a movie I honestly don’t get sick of watching when I just want to get lost in something. With this base and quite the exciting trailer, Wrath of the Titans was looking like a sequel that could far surpass the previous film in more than just sand and mixed mythology. It could truly be great! [Read more...]
Unknown is an interesting and well made film that shows it’s cards maybe a bit too soon and doesn’t take full advantage of the doors it opens.
Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris who is visiting an agro-business summit in Berlin when he is involved car crash. Waking up four days after the accident, Harris, has sustained some memory loss but seeks out his wife, Elizabeth, who hasn’t come to his side. He is only to find that she doesn’t recognize him and someone else is on her arm claiming to be him. Harris begins to regain some of his memory and dives head first into proving he is who he says he is and finds himself being hunted down in the process.
The new Narnia has left the mouse house and landed at Fox (and in 3D) and the results are a clumsy adventure that takes more than a couple steps back from the very good Prince Caspian.
Dropping the two older Pevensie siblings and replacing them with their annoying cousin (who’s name sounds like useless, which I couldn’t have agreed with more) was the first mistake by the film and as Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace transport to Narnia I knew this kid was going to make this a long trip. The group hooks up with reigning ruler of Narnia, Prince Caspian, after he randomly comes across the Pevensie’s in the middle of the ocean they just transported to which they immediately take as a sign that trouble is brewing in Narnia. Caspian is on the hunt for the Lost Swords of Narnia and the fate of his lands will become intertwined in this quest.
As the plot moves along the characters rarely discover anything about their quest and things just easily move forward as they are either given or quickly deduce their next step. [Read more...]
Paul Haggis’ prison break thriller delivers a great final act but fails to make us care about the characters at all in the film’s preceding two acts essentially neutering the emotional impact of the film.
The film is finely acted, has a very intriguing premise in the reverse jail break, and is pretty clever in it’s progression of the escape plot. What doesn’t work is little to no characterization, characters doing things completely out of the blue with no validation, and a perplexing handling of the “did she do it” portion of the plot.
Speaking of the plot, it revolves around a young family that is torn apart when the mother, Lara, is abruptly arrested for the murder of a colleague she had recently a large argument with in the workplace. After the appeals process runs out, her husband, John, abruptly decides to break her out of prison. He tracks down an escape artist out of the blue and this sets in motion the steps he begins to take to try and free Lara from prison.
Devo advised to whip a problem when it came along, but I am not Indiana Jones. Instead I would much rather take the advice of the narrator in the A-Team, because calling them in when a debacle arises just seems way cooler.
Based on the 1980s TV series, this incarnation starts with the introduction of the four men on their first mission together. Eventually they form the “A-Team,” successfully completing a vast number of missions together that most other soldiers fighting in the war in Iraq would not expect to come back alive from. It’s just what they do. While out on one of these missions things don’t go quite so well and they end up being framed for a crime that they didn’t commit. However, prison time just so happens to be a great time to plan your next move when you want to clear your name and get revenge when you just so happen to know who set you up. I pity the fool who thinks bars can contain them! (I’m sorry… I couldn’t resist. And you should have expected it at some point…) [Read more...]
The latest TV adaptation, The A-Team, gets 3 great actors and one unproven one together with a director that can shoot some action and the results is an almost non-stop action flick with paper thin characters and a weak plot that is quite a lot of fun.
The A-Team is a group of rangers who have been performing mission after mission specializing in black ops and crazy over the top affairs. After being sporadically thrown together in the film’s opening back story we flash forward to eight years later to see the team accept a mission in Iraq to recapture a billion some dollars and the illegal plates that made them. Well as you can tell from the trailer, the group is double crossed, thrown in prison, and are forced to prove their innocence.
Clash of the Titans starts with a narration explaining how the stories of the Greek gods have been written in the stars for all to see. Well, as pretty as those twinkling night-lights are they don’t really do justice to the action sequences of the myths, which is where this film steps in.
Like with most Greek stories, in Clash of the Titans the people bring about their own troubles thanks to their tragic flaw of hubris. They have grown too proud for their own good, believing that they are now better than the gods that created them. Unfortunately for them these gods have their own excess of pride to contend with, and they really don’t like lower beings spitting in their faces. Seeing the destruction of a statue of Zeus by the soldiers of Argos, Hades vengefully wipes them out, as well as a ship below that just so happens to belong the Perseus’ family, killing all but him. [Read more...]
Clash of the Titans is a an unoriginal, pretty dumb, sword and sandals epic that looks great, has solid action and effects, with some superb art design/production values and the result is an entertaining and fun flick that I enjoyed even when I was chuckling at the cheesiness.
Perseus is the son of Zeus, his mother was human, and he was raised by an adoptive human family that found him in the watery grave of his mother. Raised as a fisherman and a strict follower of the Gods, Perseus’ family is wiped out by Hades when they are in the wrong place and the wrong time as Hades wipes out a group of Argos soldiers and takes out Perseus’ family boat for good measure. Dragged to Argos as a possible accomplice in the encounter, Perseus, is taken to a party where the Queen of Argos claims her daughter, Andromeda, is more beautiful then any Goddess and the King declares this the time of men which pisses off Zeus who sends a once exiled Hades to mess with Man. Hades tells the city that they will fall to the Kraken if they do not sacrifice Andromeda by the soon coming eclipse and this in turn sets out Perseus and the last remaining Argos soldiers to try and find out how they can destroy the titan they call Kraken.
Hayao Miyazaki’s latest is given the A+ voice over treatment for American audiences with the help of John Lasseter and the results are a beautiful looking animated tale full of wonder and imagination that is a bit all over the place and can’t sustain it’s full run time.
Sosuke is a young boy that lives on the top of a hill of a port town. His mother works at retirement community and his father is a boat captain that docks in and out of their local port. Sosuke loves the water and one day when playing by his house he discovers a small red fish like creature with a rather human face. This fish he names Ponyo turns out to be on the run from an underwater sorcerer of sorts who begins to pursue Sosuke and his mother as the boy takes Ponyo down to school with him. Ponyo seems to be an unusual fish, as she can speak and apparently heal people, and Sosuke bonds with her immediately. When the sorcerer gets his hands on Ponyo again, Ponyo begins on the path back to Sosuke with the help of a little magic that will allow them to bond even further. [Read more...]
Liam Nesson stars in this fantastic action/thriller that while not paving any new ground is constantly engaging, has great action and one of the more badass lead characters in a film in a while.
Bryan (Liam Nesson) is recently retired special ops of sorts from the U.S. government that has moved out to Los Angeles to make up for lost time with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Bryan was gone a lot of secret mission, keeping him from his family and eventually losing them to a rich investor and a life he could never provide for them. Kim never resented her dad, and loves to see him every time he is around, but she is also easily distracted by the lifestyle put in front of her at her current status. As Bryan struggles to connect, some old buddies from Bryan’s past stop by for a little reunion and recruit him for a security job for one night only. The job is to protect a pop superstar, Sheerah, in and around her concert and get her safely too and from the venue. After the show, a crowd breaks free and Bryan tries to quickly escort her to safety when a knife armed attacker attempts to attack Sheerah, in which Bryan dispatches with ease, [Read more...]
Christopher Nolan reboots and revitalizes a dying franchise that takes the source material seriously and creates one of the better comic book origin films to date.
Christian Bale stars as Bruce Wayne who has purposefully got himself thrown into prison and entered a life of crime to train and learn how to get back at evil and strike fear into their hearts. While in prison he is approached by Henri Ducard (Liam Nesson) speaking on the behalf of Ra’s al Ghul (Ken Watanabe), who leads an organization called the League of Shadows who wishes to, rid the world of the scum of the earth. The league trains Wayne into a skilled master of fighting, stealth, and combat tactics, before having to pass the final test of executing a proven criminal. Refusing to kill the man, Wayne is forced to defend himself, kills Ra’s al Ghul, and destroys the league’s hide out along with many of it’s members; with Wayne saving Henri Ducard before it’s all said and done, yet has to leave him behind.
Upon returning to Gotham, Wayne, along with the help of Alfred (Michael Caine) the family butler begins to re-establish his name in both Wayne Enterprises and the city. He begins to work secretly with Alfred creating Batman while also enlisting the help of Lucius Fox at Wayne Enterprises for the high tech gadgetry needed to become Batman. [Read more...]
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back, and his return is an entertaining action picture that is exactly what it thinks it is. … (more...)
The Hangover Part III is a step in the right direction, it is just such a long walk back to being good after Part II. … (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)
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)