Discussing Film, Music, TV, Books, Video Games and More
The beginning of a new school year always lets us know that summer is officially over. For those of us who aren’t in school, we know that it’s over when we watch the season finales of our favorite summer TV shows. The Season Finale of Newsroom was magnificent and was a perfect way to end the first season of this remarkable show. [Read more...]
Alright alright, I have to get this out of the way first, and spoiler alert for anyone who missed last night’s Newsroom but Osama Bin Laden is dead. The navy seals killed him and President Barak Obama addressed the nation on May 1st, 2011. Appropriately, this week’s episode was entitled “5/1″ and was a very obvious reference to the date in which this particular episode takes place.
If there is anything to take from Bridesmaids, it is that being the Maid of Honor sucks (which I hope my best friend will remember when I am most likely crying my eyes out over all I have to do for her when the day comes). More importantly, and more relavent, it’s the relief that the look for the best comedy of the year can stop right now. Basically it’s going to take pure perfection topped with bribery of free puppies, slushie machines, and Ryan Reynolds to beat this one.
To sum it up, the film structures itself around the well-worn path to the alter, taking a machete along to carve out its own path away from the formula best known for the sappiness of the romantic comedy versions of these stories. To clarify, this is not a romantic comedy, though both of those words apply to the film. More comparable to The Hangover and Due Date in comedy and ridiculous events transgressing within simple journeys (though I will purposely refrain from unfairly labeling it is a female version of The Hangover), Bridesmaids draws its humor from the relationships of the characters as they find themselves in a constant spiral of unraveling events that hopefully have never actually happened to one group of people in short succession. Hilarious to witness; no doubt unfathomably painful to experience. [Read more...]
Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables is a man on a mission, action all stars extravaganza being sold as an explosion a minute yarn. But if it wasn’t for a solid final 25 minutes or so of non-stop action then this film would have been a colossal failure of its potential.
Now I hate to feel a little burned by a film’s marketing, as that happens a tad too much in Hollywood if you ask me, but look at the cast Stallone has assembled here! I mean, just reading the cast’s names is a promise of big things. Stallone, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, and the list goes ever on. These guys should be beating the shit out of each other from frame one; right? Well sadly that isn’t the case and after a brief “actiony” opening sequence the film is pretty dry on fighting and action for sometime. Now I am all for character building, but after about 2/3 of the way through the movie we have been treated to one action beat that consisted of quick shoot out, a lame car chase, and a cool gimmick on a dock; that’s it.
A couple of weeks ago I excitedly told my aunt that I was going to Comic Con in a week, with a big ol’ smile on my face. I didn’t really expect her to be jealous, but I was overly excited. Then she asked if it was a gathering of comics or something. As in comedians. I then proceeded to try and explain that it was this really cool event that happens each year that has been taken over by Hollywood in the past decade or so. Basically it has everything a nerd would desire to see, including comics, writers, artists, video games, tv shows, and movies. I told her about the panels I was planning on sitting in on and some of the people that were scheduled to attend. I was adamant about making her see how awesome it was, but she just didn’t get it. Color me deflated. Oh well, I guess Comic Con is just for certain people…
Like this girl:
Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart in this classic TV show adaptation that falls fairly flat unless a joke or gag involves the lead character.
Maxwell Smart is an analyst for the secret government organization, Control, which monitors and international activity, especially that of Chaos, which has plans for world domination. Max finally has a high enough score to make field agent after his 8th try, but the Chief (Alan Arkin) needs him to stay an analyst; as he is the best. Circumstances change after Chaos breaches Control, which they don’t show at all oddly, and all of the agents are compromised, moving Max into the role of agent. [Read more...]
Up in the Air Trailer – George Clooney traveling a lot. Sounds like an amazing premise, right? But it still looks great. Check it out here. The … (more...)
The Fast & Furious franchise is back with its sixth entry, and whatever the series has done for you so far will most likely hold true for this … (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)
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)