Joe's Review: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

I've been holding back a bit on the posting frequency (nothing new) but mainly because I don't want to have too many posts to transfer over to the new blog. It's nearly complete, and I'm really excited! But anyway, onto a review of the newest Harold and Kumar movie.

First off, if you haven't seen the first movie yet, stop reading this review, and go check it out. Well... you can keep reading, but make sure to watch the first movie before seeing this one. It's really worth it to see both I think. They're just the type of comedy movie that I've been craving for this year.

So what is all the hype about? Well, Harold and Kumar are a couple of pot loving, fun craving guys. They're also almost completely opposite of each other. Harold is the more conservative, cautions asian guy... and Kumar is the in-your-face, do what it takes Indian guy. Mash em together, throw in a little Neil Patrick Harris... and you got some great cinema.

Ok, so maybe it's not great, but I can guarantee that you'll get at least a few cheap chuckles out of it. Escape from Guantanamo Bay takes place merely hours after the original movie, with the guys packing their bags and making their way to the airport, so they can head off to Amsterdam. At the airport, they run into Vanessa, an old flame of Kumar's. She's set to get married to Colton, a Daddy's boy, who's dad just happens to work for the Department of Homeland security. After a little bit of reminiscing, the boys set off onto their plane, and get ready for what they think will be the best trip of their lives.

Only one problem. Kumar can't wait until they get to Amsterdam to take a hit. So he whips out his special contraption to allow him to smoke on the plane. Unfortunately, someone sees him using it, and mistakes him for a terrorist. Harold and Kumar are taken into custody, and placed in Guantanamo Bay! What are they going to do now??!

Well, you'll have to see the movie to find out. I don't think you'll be disappointed though, especially if you've seen the first one. Escape from Guantanamo Bay is a bit more serious than the first, in that it has a pretty complete story. However, expect a lot of the same types of laughs that made you love the first one, and then some. This is some good ol' fashioned stupid comedy at its best. For me, it falls in the same class as Superbad, Wedding Crashers, and the like. I think I might actually like this one better, because it's more over the top.

That being said, this one gets a 9 out of 10 for me. Would've been better in a full auditorium, but you can't get everything you want!

If you've seen it... let me know what you think!

Joe's Review: 21

I wish I had time to get to this review earlier, because I really enjoyed 21. I think part of the reason why the movie appealed so much to me is because it's something I wish I could've done. Not to mention, the story was based in the Boston area, where I'm from... and a majority of the scenes that take place at the school were filmed at my alma mater, Boston University! Go Terriers :-). I know that there's at least one person who will appreciate that comment, I won't mention any names though. ;-)

Anyway for some background on what this movie is about, you could check out the book it's based on, Bringing Down the House. I've heard that it's a pretty good read, and delves much more into detail as to what these kids did. Or... you could just read on...I hope you do both! I want to go and read that book myself now... just need to curb my spending habit for a bit so I can save up some dinero. Unless I could make money like these kids did.

The basic premise behind 21 is that Ben Campbell is a genius attending MIT, and is looking to attend Harvard Medical. He's already been accepted, and the only problem lies in money to pay for med school. He's applied for a prestigious scholarship, and when the movie begins, he is in his interview, trying to plead his case. Flash back to a little while earlier, and Ben is just a student at MIT working at a suit shop to make ends meet. He displays his excellent math skills in class one day, and finds himself recruited to join a select group of students who work together to count cards in Vegas... and earn an incredible amount of money.

Working with the group, Ben begins to roll in the money, leaving his close friends for the high life. However, technology is catching up to them, with new face recognition software.. as well as one persistent security guard, determined to catch anyone he sees counting cards, and make sure that they never do it again.

That's all I'll spoil about the movie, because I really think that you should see it. It's got a pretty good story, and it makes you think about whether or not this could really happen. Then you can check out the book and see that it really did! This movie really made me want to go to Vegas at some point, and I think that I will be whenever I can afford to.

This one gets a 8.5 out of 10 for me. If you've seen it.. what do you think?

Tomorrow.. the movies this weekend!

Joe's Review: Stop Loss

I'm going to admit, I wasn't a huge fan of this movie coming into it. In fact, one of the only reasons why I saw it was because my lovely girlfriend wanted to see it. Having not seen Boys Don't Cry, I didn't really know what to expect from director Kimberly Peirce. (Weird spelling of Peirce, I keep thinking it's wrong, but that's what the bible, IMDB has.) Anyway, after having seen Stop Loss, I can honestly say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a pretty moving story, obviously conveying a strong message.

For those who have no idea what this movie is about, a little background for you. Stop Loss is the story of 4 friends from Texas who have enlisted in the army to defend our country against the insurgents in Iraq. Brandon King (played by the surprisingly impressive Ryan Phillipe), is their leader, the one who always keeps em in check. Also starring Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, Channing Tatum, and Rob Brown.

The movie opens with the crew in Iraq, performing their duties at a military checkpoint. As they examine the cars that head to their post, they are suddenly attacked by a car full of insurgents. Quickly taking action, they pursue them, unknowingly being led into an ambush. After the losss of several of his men, Brandon has to go in and save his best friend Steve (Channing Tatum), who has gone in too far for his own good. The battle leaves one of his men permanently disabled, but many of them escape. It turns out to be a day that King will never forget after he returns home.

The four friends return home to a Hero's welcome in Texas, earning their honors and the respect of everyone in their town. They celebrate their return, but the good times are short lived. The war has taken it's toll on the boys, as they face night terrors and the re-adjustment to a more normal life. It's something they welcome though, as Steve and Brandon are on their way out of the military for good, they have served their time.

Brandon soon finds that this is not the case, as he has been "Stop Lossed". While he is expecting to be released, the Army has other plans for him, and set him to be shipped out at the end of the month. King is not pleased at all, knowing that going back to Iraq is something he just doesn't want to do again. He has served his time, and doesn't feel that he needs to go back. He goes AWOL, and travels to Washington to try to call on a favor of a state senator he hopes will be able to stop his order to head back to Iraq.

You'll have to watch the movie to find out what happens, but I can say that there are quite a few more things that happen in the movie. It really explores every character fairly well. You can sympathize with them as they experience the difficulties of going to war, and in some cases, heading back to war. The impact that it has on their families is incredible, giving it an extra "real" feel. I definitely recommend this movie whether you support the war or not. It's a really good story.

A 7.8 out of 10 for this one, only because it has some plot holes that could have been filled up (but it's ok that they didn't). If you've seen it (or plan to see or not see it), please comment! If you've got a review you'd like me to link to, please feel free to leave it in a comment and I'll update the post with it!

Also a reminder again that Hell's Kitchen is tomorrow! My DVR is already all set to record all the episodes this season... I can't wait!!!!

Joe's Review: 10,000 BC

Boy, am I tired. I played some floor hockey earlier today and I just about died. I haven't really worked out much since school ended (tear), and I'm pretty out of shape. It's just something that I've kinda forgotten about, but I really need to get back on it. It was fun to play though... I kinda wish that I had played hockey before, so that I might be doing that now. But hindsight is always 20/20, as they say.

Anyway, onto something that I wish could burn calories like a workout, a movie review! Yes, I saw the monstrosity known as 10,000 B.C. a few days back, and its time to comment on it.

I came into this movie with high expectations. Again, in retrospect, this was not warranted. I'd heard that typical Roland Emmerich movies are like that, in which the trailer is all action. In short, I was disappointed by this one.

As you may or may not know, this not-so-epic movie follows a hunter, D'Leh, and the journey he goes through to save the love of his life Evolet (played by Camilla Belle). She had come to his tribe after her tribe was wiped out by some raiders. Upon her entry into the village, the "old mother" of the town has a prophesy that in a few years, in the final hunt, a terrible tragedy will befall the tribe. However, Evolet and her mate, who is yet to be discovered, will be the ones to find a way for their tribe to continue. D'Leh's father, in the meantime, cannot wait for this to happen, and sets about on a journey to try to find a way to save the tribe.

The years pass and the "final hunt" approaches. I don't know why it's a final hunt, but it is.
Evolet and D'Leh are grown, and have grown quite fond of each other. In their tradition, the one who kills the Manek (Wooley Mammoth) will be able to claim the white spear and his mate. D'Leh manages to do this, and claims Evolet as his woman. However, it turns out that he killed the Manek by accident, and he gives back the white spear, and Evolet as well. While he thinks about what he has done, a raiding group comes through and kills some people, and kidnap the others.

The remaining people in the village are at a loss. D'Leh, fearing what might happen to Evolet, decides that he must go after her. The old mother in the village agrees, and the three remaining hunters go after the raiding group to try and save their people. On their way, they encounter many other tribes who have been attacked as well, and they join forces as they travel along, towards the inevitable showdown with the "God" that has ordered their people taken.

I must admit, that does make it sound a bit epic, but trust me, it's not. I tried to force myself to enjoy this one, but I just couldn't. I'll take solace in knowing that it was free.

If you're thinking about this one, find something else... you'll be happier. 2 out of 10. Blah.

Joe's Review: Semi-Pro

Hmm... I am a little late on this one. I can sum up this movie with one word: SPUMONI!!!! Ok, so maybe you can't really do that, but it doesn't take much to describe a Will Ferrell movie. If you're looking for stupid funny, then you'll LOVE Semi-Pro

Semi Pro follows around Jackie Moon, a former pop star who used the money from his hit, Love Me Sexy, to run a basketball team. He purcheses the Flint Tropics, of the ABA. Now, as Owner/Coach/Player, Jackie attempts to lead the Tropics to success! His dream of success finally comes true... at least for a moment, anyway, when he finds out that the ABA and the NBA have agreed to a merger. Unfortunately for Jackie, only 4 teams are to be merged, and the Tropics aren't one of them. That doesn't deter Jackie Moon though, as he proposes that the beat 4 teams make it. The league owners agree, and Jackie finds himself trying to guide his team to full glory, 4th place!

Of course, there are plenty of obstacles in their way. Over the years, the Tropics have lost a ton of fans, and are sitting in last place in the ABA. Jackie Moon, being the leader he is, trades away some of the team's assets in order to try to acquire the players and fans they need to be successful and make it to 4th place. Can the Tropics do it?

You'll have to see it to find out. Don't come into this movie expecting too much. I know that I've said this before, so take it with a grain of salt, but that is the way I'm finding it to be with most of the new comedies that are coming out. You might be hesitant to see them because "all of the good scenes are in the trailer anyway.", and this can be true, but I don't think it is for this one. It has some very legitimately funny scenes, and you will find yourself laughing out loud at some points. But, like I said before, don't expect to find the meaning of life or anything in it!

Something I did like was that the movie was very authentic to the old ABA.. of course with their own take on it. ESPN has a good Uni-watch article that kinda relates to it. You can read that here.

I'd give this one a 6.7 out of 10. For pure entertainment value... it would rank a bit higher. 7 out of 10.

Thanks for the feedback on the desk.. I think I'm going to be getting it soon!

Hi Honey, I'm Home!

I've said that every single day when I've gotten home this past week. Some of you who still read this blog may wonder where I've been. I'm sure you haven't, but I'm going to tell you anyway. My family and I have just moved into our new home, and let me tell ya, it's been a trip and a half. We weren't really prepared to move, having lived in our apartment for the past 15 or so years. Needless to say, it's taken us forever to move!

Glad to report that we are just about done though, and with that, I can return to a more normal blogging schedule.

I meant to give you guys a review of the latest movie I've seen. Now don't criticize me, but I really enjoy these types of movies for some reason. The last movie I saw was Step Up 2. I thought it was really well done, and the choreography and music were excellent. For those of you who don't know, Step Up 2 follows the story of Andie, a dancer from the streets who gets accepted into the prestigious Maryland School for the Arts.

Andie is not your typical student at this particular school. She doesn't fit in, having not had much professional training. What drives her is her crew, and competing at the streets. However, the headmaster at her new school wants to taker her under his wing, and train her so that she can become the dancer that he sees so much potential in. This brings about conflicts with her Crew, as Andie begins to be late and even miss rehearsals for them. Not being able to deal with her anymore, she is kicked out of her crew.

Dejected, Andie struggles to deal with her new surroundings. There are people at school who are willing to help her, and they even begin to form their own crew. After a failed performance at a club, they come into school to find their studio vandalized. Now, they must try even harder to keep things together, as Andie gets expelled, and their new crew loses their morale.

No spoilers, as usual. Now this is definitely not an oscar winning performance by any means... and you'll get my Oscar feedback soon enough. But if you like dance, then I can suggest this movie! 6.5 out of 10, a decent film overall.

Lots of stuff happening, I'll be sure to keep you guys posted! More to come soon.

Joe's Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles

Hey all, this is the first of two movies that I saw this weekend, and I'll be sure to put up a review of that one soon. Just want this one to sit on top for a day or two. I saw Spiderwick Chronicles on Wednesday night... that's right, before the rest of America! Muahaha, the benefits of being a theatre manager! Anyway, I thought this was an excellent movie.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on a series of books written by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black. After seeing this movie, I think I'm going to head out and buy the books at some point. The books and movie explore the stories of the Grace family, who have recently moved into their Great-Aunt's house. After they move in, Jared, one of the Grace Twins, discovers the work of Arthur Spiderwick, The Spiderwick Chronicles. After reading the book, strange things begin to happen, and Jared finds out that he has unleashed a fantastic world on to the family, filled with magic and magical creatures.

Unfortunately, these are not friendly creatures by any means. They want the book, containing all of the secrets of their world, and they want to use it for their own good. Mulgarath, their leader, is especially interested in it, and will do anything he can to get the book. As Jared and his family discover more of the secrets of this world they have unleashed, they realize that they must go back to the source to find out what to do with the book, and stop these creatures from taking over.

This movie has some great moments. I love how the creatures can't be seen by anyone until they are spit on by Hogsqeal, who is voiced by the excellent Seth Rogan. It's pretty funny to watch some of the people do battle against creatures they can't see! I also enjoyed the firey Thimbletack, who takes it upon himself to protect the book with all of his tiny being.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 7 out of 10. While it is a movie aimed more towards kids, I wouldn't necessarily say that it is a kid's movie, and it can be enjoyable to anyone who is looking for a decent fantasy movie. I should also point out that you should pick a theatre that you know has excellent surround sound for this film, I enjoyed it that much more because of the excellent sound system in the auditorium in which I saw it!

That's all for now... if you've seen it, what do you think?

Joe's Review: 27 Dresses

Yay! I finally saw it. Well, we were late, and we missed about 15 minutes, but my girlfriend and I finally saw this movie. I have to say that it was pretty enjoyable, and had the same feel good theme that The Devil Wears Prada had. A very cute movie overall.

So what is this movie about? Well, Jane is the main character. She is the assistant to the boss at a large outdoors company, and is in love with her boss. She has also been a bridesmaid at (you guessed it) 27 weddings. Jane has never found the confidence to tell her boss that she loves him, and has always felt a need to take care of everyone around her, including her younger sister Tess, who Jane tried to play mother for with their mother died. Jane also has a dream of one day being married in her mother's dress, at the same Pier where her mom got married. An endless romantic, she has yet to make her dreams come true.

So it's no surprise when Jane's sister comes to stay with her for a few weeks, Jane finally decides that she has the confidence to tell her boss that she really likes him.... but there is a problem. Her boss, George runs into Tess at them moment Jane is about to tell him this... and him and Tess hit it off! Jane can do nothing but sit aside and watch as they go through a whirlwind courtship, and the next thing she knows, they are going to be married in three weeks, and she is left to plan the wedding!!!

Pretty crazy. Add to that Kevin, a guy who has been practically stalking Jane, and a committments writer at the New York Journal. Jane has secretly admired his writings, not knowing it was him. When he is called in to cover Tess's wedding, Jane is forced to spend a lot of time with him, and she finds him completely annoying. Now not only does she have to watch her sister marry the man she loves, but also has to deal with the annoying "Jerk" Kevin.

Well, I'm sure you can imagine that this has a happy ending, but you'll have to see it to be sure. All I can tell you is that I enjoyed it a lot... it was really good for a chick flick. Guys, there are a lot of attractive women in this one, and I'm sure your girlfriend/fiancee/wife will LOVE you for seeing this one with them.

This one is Joe approved! Here's the trailer for those of you who want something more...



I wonder if I only see movies I know I'll like or if I just like every movie....If you've seen it.. what did you think?

Joe's Review: Juno

Hi everyone, just returned from the movies! Didn't get to see 27 Dresses as the girlfriend wanted to, but that's only because it was sold out. Surprising that so many people would go to the movies on a day before work, but hey.. it happens. She was actually pretty disappointed and I'm going to try to get it in sometime this week. Don't worry babe, we will be going to see it. You did watch the Patriots game with me... so I owe it to ya!

Anyway, after much debate between The Orphanage, National Treasure 2, and Juno, we ended up going to see Juno, even though she had already seen it. Hey, it is a benefit that we don't pay for movies, right? Anyway, we didn't see the first because the bulb in that theatre was dying (tip from the brother, who is a projectionist there), and neither of us had seen National Treasure, so we thought it rather pointless to see part two. I'm really glad we saw Juno though, because I thought it was excellent.

Juno follows the story of our little heroine, Juno MacGuff, as she deals with teen pregnancy. Her child is fathered by Paulie Bleeker, who is played by the always good Michael Cera. Juno goes through all the stages of teen pregnancy, from wanting an abortion, not being able to go through with it, to telling her parents and finding suitable adoptive parents for her child. Also along the journey, she becomes good friends with the father who is going to adopt her child, and realizes that she has actually found her true love. Of course, there are many other things that happen, and also some truly hilarious things. I don't want to ruin this one at all, and I really suggest that you head out and go see this one! Here's the trailer if you need some more persuasion.....



Her father is played by the hilarious J.K. Simmons... I always seem to like his character in movies. I really liked how everyone in the movie just seemed to work.. they all reall embraced their roles. :-)

It's a complete movie from beginning to end, and you can really relate to the characters in it. I only wish I had seen it earlier.. it's excellent! This one gets a 9 out of 10 in Joe's world. That's two 9s in the row this year, with Cloverfield, and now Juno!

Did anyone see Juno? What did you think?

Joe's Review: Cloverfield

How many of you have been aware of the hype behind the Cloverfield movie? I myself have been really intrigued, and after seeing it for the second time last night, I should probably write a review about it. For a quick, gritty review (I'll go into more detail below), this movie is great for what it was. While being extremely short (99 minutes with previews), I'd say that this movie was great fora bout 94 of it. The ending just didn't do it for me, though. I can picture many people saying that the movie was great but the ending was bad. If you disagree, please let me know why.

Anyway, the basic plot of the movie was that a going away party for one of the main characters (Rob) is being videotaped by one of his best friends (Hud). Hud goes through the party, gathering testimonials and video goodbyes of everyone at the party. The party takes a bit of a sour note when Elizabeth McIntyre, who Rob realizes he actually cares about, shows up to the party with another guy. Rob appears devastated, and after arguing with her, he heads back to the party and she leaves with her new friend. Hud and Rob's Brother try to make him feel better, and let him know that he should just try to make up with her, and are discussing it when an earthquake like shaking rocks the city.

Everyone at the party starts to panic, but it quickly subsides. After turning on the TV to find out what happened, everyone heads to the roof to see if they can get a better look. As they are up there trying to figure out what happened, an explosion is seen in the distance. Fearing a terrorist attack, everyone panics and heads back into the building.

Soon they realize that it's not a terrorist attack, but something else altogether.

Not going to spoil the movie, so there's just an intro as to what starts the movie. It's actually very intense, and I really enjoyed the way that they used handheld digicams for the entire filming of the movie. It made it seem more real, and showed you how people would really act in that kind of situation. I believed that a lot of that could happen if we were stuck in the same situation. Of course, being a movie it did have parts that you know would never happen, but at the same time this movie made it work.

JJ Abrams does a really good job at making you "feel" what the characters are feeling. You get frustrated, and are taken on quite an intense ride. I know I've said it before, but that's what it is. It's not really a horror movie, so you don't really have too much of the jump out of your seat being scared. It's more of an implied fear... as in a "what if this happened to us" kind of scared. It was really well done... but I wish that the ending was different.

The cinematography has made some people motion sick, so I do warn against that. Also, I found it very interesting that there was no music in this film. The only music is the music from the party, which I don't really consider part of the music for the movie, as it was really for the party. It brought up the suspense, as there was nothing to set the mood except for the characters themselves.

For those adventurous folks, there is a bit (no video) at the end that can clear things up a bit. The credits are really long though.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 9, and say that it's IAW approved. (I should make banners for this stuff, like Fletch...)

If you've seen it, let me know what you think!

Discussion: What happens next?

For the Lurkers

What does that even mean? Well this site gets a good amount of visitors, but doesn't get anymore comments. I don't know why. I do suppose that its the paid posts, but a guy has to make money somehow. I need a little extra to support myself, and this is one way to do it. I still may move these to a different blog, because I do value my readers.

Anyway, to get things off my agenda, I thought I'd link over to a movie review done by a fellow blogger. This one was done by Skittle, and it is for I Am Legend. Thanks Skittle for writing that!

Now back to the main topic of the post. I love comments... and they've been dwindling. The readers and bloggers that I started out with are still active for the most part, because I still see them commenting on other blogs. No hits at you guys, I understand that the writing quality has gone down, and so hasn't the frequency. My life is just catching up to me... I can't force myself to stay up late and blog all the time anymore. Luckily I have this night off so that I can blog!

One simple request that I have is... if you're reading this post, leave a comment! I want to compile a list to see who will do it. I'll surely make it worth your while! It can simply be a quick hello. I especially want to hear from those who just stop by the blog and are not regular readers. What do I need to do to make you a regular reader?

I havta get ready to go to church... hope to hear from all of you soon!

Movie Review: Saw IV

Whoo, what a thriller. Saw Saw IV today with my girlfriend. This is one of her favorite series, and I've grown on it. I still need to see the second one, but that doesn't matter for this review.

For those of you who don't know anything about the Saw series, I'll provide a bit of background. Each film involves several characters being tested by Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) for things that they have done. Each character generally is either strapped to a deadly trap or trapped somewhere, and must discover their way out, but only in the way that Jigsaw wants them to.

Saw IV picks up where Saw III left off, seemingly. Jigsaw's body is being autopsied, and in the process, a wax covered tape is found in his stomach. Playing the tape, it is reveled that again "The games have just begun". One of the officers in the precinct, obsessed with the disappearance and death of many of his fellow officers, is drawn through a series of clues set by Jigsaw. At several points, he encounters traps which have been set up for other people, and aids Jigsaw in testing them.

Meanwhile, the FBI have become involved in the case, and attempt to track down Jigsaw's new apprentice. This leads them to interrogate Jigsaw's ex wife, and much of the history of what made Jigsaw who he is now is revealed. Following the clues, one of the agents goes to the warehouse where Saw III occurred, where several officers have been trapped.....

Not going to spoil it for anyone who plans to see it, but this one was quite psychological, and the traps were excellent. It really played games with your head, and I enjoyed it. It was a really good movie to release right now, with Halloween (duh) and I think it should do quite well. It did leave an ending open for more Saw movies to be created, so I'm looking forward to it.

If you're looking for a good gross out movie that makes you think a little bit, then this one will be great. I think it was better than Saw III, though I don't know if it matches the original Saw. This one will be a series to look for as a horror classic in the years to come, in my opinion.

It gets an 8 out of 10 for me! First movie in a while :-)

Review: Feel the Noise

I didn't expect this to be great, and it wasn't great, but it wasn't totally unbearable either. Feel the Noise , starring Omarion, is about a wannabe rapper from New York who, after a run-in with a local gang, heads to Puerto Rico to stay with his estranged father. There, with the help of his step brother Javi, he discovers reggaton and they begin to produce hot tracks together. He also finds a girl who he falls for, C.C. After overcoming some local troubles, they manage to sign a record contract and head back to New York.

Once they arrive in New York, the troubles start. Their producer tries to change up the sound they have worked hard to create, and then tries to take advantage of C.C. In the meantime, the gang that was searching for Rob (Omarion) catches up to him. Not gonna spoil what happens if you're planning on seeing it, but I'm assuming its quite predictable.

What was not predictable, was the crowd in the theatre. It's Columbus Day here in the MA, and that means no school for the kiddies (and a paid holiday for me!). However, that also meant that I had to see it with 100 kids who just don't understand how to SHUT THE HECK UP during a movie. Geez, I've never heard so much talking during a movie before. And there were three girls behind me kicking the seat next to me, shaking my seat. She even had the nerve to yell at me when I looked back because of the constant kicking!

I wanted to kick them out, but the girl always tells me to just ignore it, cuz I'm not working. If there weren't so many of the little troublemakers, I would've said something myself. I can't tolerate that. So while the movie itself wasn't great, the crowd made it that much worse.

Guess you can take this as kind of a warning.... Be careful of the movie going crowd. They can make or break the experience.

Feel the Noise gets a 3.5 out of 10. The music was ok.

Review: The Heartbreak Kid

The perfect wedding photo, right? Sure looks like it. Of course, if this were the perfect wedding, there would be no movie, and that just can't happen! I saw The Heartbreak Kid last night, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. It wasn't too over the top like Good Luck Chuck was, and was generally a lot of fun.

The Heartbreak Kid stars Ben Stiller as Ed Cantrow, a guy just can't settle down. He was actually engaged for 5 years, but didn't want to break his routine, and so the engagement didn't work out. Of course, his ex ends up getting married, and Cantrow just HAS to go to the wedding, where he ends at the singles table. Not only that, he gets humiliated by his friend Mac... you'll see that if you watch the movie.

After a ton of pressure from his friends and Dad (played by Stiller's real life dad Jerry Stiller) Cantrow hooks up with and marries Lila(Malin Akerman, aka Freakshow's wife in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle), a woman who he tried to save from being mugged (unsuccessfully). Once they are married, Lila changes in Cantrow's eyes... not quite the girl he married. You can see where this is going, and I don't want to spoil anything! Anyway, after a bad sunburn incident, Cantrow has a lot of alone time on his honeymoon, and meets a girl he actually loves, Miranda (Michelle Mognahan). Oh yeah, I forgot I told Matt I'd mention Mississippi in this post. Miranda's family comes from Mississippi. This is the fourth time I've republished this post.

Also, this movie does have Carlos Mencia in it, who is carving out a nice niche playing the funny Mexican, Uncle Tito. He does some things that just make you stop for a sec, then laugh out loud. The movie also has some fun with a deviated septum... but again, you'll have to see it to know what happens!

The movie did have some flaws in that it did move slowly at some points, but overall, you don't really think too much of it. Let's just say that this is a fun comedy, with romantic comedy elements built into it. A remake of the 1972 comedy starring Charles Grodin and Cybil Sheperd (Thanks Tarametblog!), this is a solid movie. The Farrelly brothers are reminding us of some of the success they had with There's Something About Mary. The movie this most reminded me of was Wedding Crashers. Rated R for a reason... not quite for the kids, but I'm sure the adults will enjoy this one!

I'm giving it a 7.5 out of 10, if you see it, let me know what you think!

Review: Good Luck Chuck

Two movies in one week, really livin on the edge now! This time it was Good Luck Chuck. Have to say that I did enjoy this one, it reminded me a bit of 40 year old Virgin, but with Jessica Alba and Dane Cook. And we all know that Jessica is nice to look at. :-)

The basic premise is that our pal Chuck Logan (Dane Cook) is cursed. Any girl he goes to do the deed with will end up finding true happiness.... with the next guy she finds. Soon enough, the ladies are lining up to get their hands on him, so that they can find that next guy. Chuck, however, wants to find real love, but his curse prevents him from doing that.

Not gonna spoil it for anybody planning on seeing it, but I think you can predict what happens. There are some slight twists, but nothing too crazy. Alba is delightfully klutzy and her character is easy to like. I think Cook overacted at some points, but that might have been what the director wanted. And you can't have one of these without a foul mouthed sidekick, and that was Chuck's pal Stu (Dan Fogler). Being rated R, this movie also had its fair share of nudity for people looking for that, and no, Alba does not.

Overall your typical romantic comedy. It has a good premise, and delivered what I wanted. Seeing Cook and Fogel's characters as children was hilarious! Having Alba in this film certainly helped, and the crowd was roaring with laughter at some points. Not extremely vulgar and potentially offensive like Superbad, this is one people should enjoy! It should also make you think differently about grapefruit.

I forgot to mention, the homemade tape at the end is really cute! :-P

Review: Resident Evil - Extinction

The third incarnation of the series is in the books, and the reviews are.. eh. For anyone who hasn't seen the previous two films, here's a quick recap:

SPOILERS OF FIRST TWO MOVIES HERE, PLEASE SKIP IF YOU HAVE SEEN THEM!!!! SCROLL DOWN TILL YOU SEE MORE BOLD TEXT!!!!

The Umbrella Corporation has created a mutagenic biological weapon known as the T-Virus. Being researched at the hive underneath Raccoon city, the Red Queen (intelligent computer running Raccoon City) decides that the only way to save the whole is to kill those inside the hive. It also wipes the memory of Alice (seen left). Alice ends up in the hive, where all of the staff are now infected, and undead. After destroying the Red Queen, Alice and one other manage to escape, though they are captured by the Umbrella Corporation to be used for additional research towards the T-virus. Alice later awakens to find Raccoon city in ruins, and seemingly abandoned.


In the second installation, an Umbrella Corporation returns to the hive (roughly half a day after the first one ended) to open it up and find out what happened. They are quickly slaughtered by the T-virus infected zombies inside. With the doors to the hive now open, the undead quickly overrun Raccoon City. As citizens attempt to make their way to the quarantine areas, the infection reaches them, and they are ordered to go back into the city or be killed by the Umbrella Corporation. Meanwhile Alice awakens, and having been experimented on by the Umbrella Corporation, has developed superhuman abilities from the T-virush. Inside the city, several STARS and Umbrella soldiers realize that Umbrella has betrayed them. They strike a deal with the scientist who developed the T-virus, rescuing his daughter in exchange for escape. Alice aids them, but as they are about to be extracted, Nemesis appears and tries to kill them. Alice defeats Nemesis, and they escape. Raccoon city is then destroyed by a nuclear warhead. Alice's escape helicopter is caught in the blast, and she is impaled, presumably dead. The film continues to show her brought back to Umbrella and again experimented on. She is "rescued", but her eyes flash the Umbrella logo, setting up the next film.

PLEASE CONTINUE READING HERE-----

The third film picks up where the second one left off..duh. Umbrella is unsuccessfully trying to use Alice's blood to create a cure for the T-Virus. Lots of blood and gore ensue. I'm not going to spoil it because there are some of you out there who WILL see the movie.

I will tell you that I did enjoy the movie. It wasn't the greatest, but the director did a good job of creating moments where you knew you would jump. It has a sense of predictable fear to it. You kind of know what will happen before it does, but it works. The story is decent, nothing spectacular, and does work to explain more what is going on with Umbrella. This third installation does keep the "feel" of the other films, so if you didn't like those, its likely you won't like this one. However, there is some good blood and gore, and Milla does a decent job.

Good movie for getting the ladies to jump into your arms guys. ;-). Ladies, an excuse to get close to that special guy, ;-).

I'm giving it a 6 out of 10. If you see it, let me know what you think! Oh, and at the end of the credits, there is something that is somewhat creepy... kinda creeped me out a bit.

Review: Mr. Woodcock

If you're looking for a quick, feel good comedy then Mr. Woodcock might just hit the spot. As I said before, I wasn't particularly looking forward to this, and I think that really helped me enjoy this movie for what it was.

John Farley was tormented by his P.E. Teacher when he was a child. Farley wasn't exactly the smallest kid on the block, and Mr. Woodcock let him know that. He always pushed Farley hard, and it haunted him as he grew up. However, John managed to get past it and become a successful writer and motivational speaker.

Returning to his hometown in Nebraska, John finds that his mom (Susan Sarandon) is engaged to Mr. Woodcock, his childhood nightmare. Not wanting to allow this marriage to happen, Farley does everything he can to break them up. He digs up dirt on Woodcock's ex wife, tries to humiliate him, even tries to talk him out of marrying his mom. Of course, you'll have to watch the movie to see the results of his efforts! In addition to the main characters, Amy Poehler does a great job as Farley's agent. I always liked her on SNL, and she did well in her role here.

This movie did have some points that I didn't like. It was a little disjointed, and didn't flow as well as it could have. The ending was also rather abrupt. I felt like they were just trying to reach an ending as quickly as they could. Overall I was slightly more impressed than I thought I would be. It's a "cute" comedy, and Billy Bob really delivers his role as Mr. Woodcock quite well. It was kinda weird seeing Stifler act like he did in this movie, but I guess that's because SWS's reputation precedes him!

This one gets a 6.5 out of 10. If you're looking for something fun, go out and see it!

Review: Death Sentence

A nice unplanned visit to see the girl today. Where did we end up? Why at the movies! :) Actually went to go visit the old theatre, guess they're really paranoid about their jobs cuz they wanted us to pay. C'mon, I worked there for 3 years! And the girl for 7! Luckily we had passes, though Regal decided to be uncool and go against their policy to accept all competitor coupons at this particular location. Actually, that might make a good consumerist article. They're afraid of competition, since 70% of the passes they were getting were from AMC. But they've ALWAYS taken all passes, so why take it back now that the competition is hitting hard? Oh well.

Anyway the girl decided she wanted to see Death Sentence today. I have to admit this movie surprised me. It was surprisingly emotional, and kept me on the edge of my seat several times. The much coveted single camera scene in the parking lot was excellent. Kevin Bacon delivered as the main character, though I think his transition from caring parent to ruthless killer was somewhat abrupt.

Directed by the maker of Saw, Death Sentence did not leave out the violence. Plenty of shootings and action scenes to go around. Bacon's character, in a word, was bad@$$. The action was not realistic, but the movie did convey its' message, that revenge is not always the best solution. There was also an unexpected twist in the movie... right when I thought it was over, it continued on. It caught me off guard a bit, gave me the "did that just happen?" feeling.

Again, this film is not recommended for the weak stomach. It has its share of blood and violence. However, it did surprisingly hit a nerve with me and got me a bit emotionally. There was a definite way to understand the anguish Bacon's character was going through. I won't spoil what causes it, but it made me feel like I would never put my family in that situation, when I do end up having one.

I thought this was a pretty good movie. Out of 10, I'd give it a 7. Go to see it if you're looking for a good action flick that hits close to home. Well, as close as a war with a gang that is trying to kill your family would get.

Review: Shoot 'Em Up

Shoot 'Em Up. You're probably thinking.. oh great... just another shooting movie. Well, you're right! And it was excellent. From the very beginning, it had a Sin City feel to it, and Clive Owen delivered an excellent performance as the nearly unfeeling hero, Mr. Smith.

Needless to say, there is a LOT of shooting in this movie, and its definitely not for the weak of stomach. Mark Davis, the director of this film, manages to have our hero use some very interesting implements in disposing of his enemies. From the title, you'll expect guns. And you'll get a lot of them. Then there are the things you don't expect. Like carrots. Yes. Carrots. You'll have to see it to believe it.

Davis also did an excellent job in creating a great feel to the movie. Like I said before, it really reminded me of the atmosphere of Sin City. There were more colors in this one, but it really brought out the emotion in the characters, and also a nice sense of humor.

With pretty much non-stop action from beginning to end,many scenes leaving you with a feeling of "did that just happen?" or actually making you cringe with what just happened, this is a gritty, awesome action thriller. Monica Belluci was nice to look at, but her accent did make her part seem a little unbelievable. Giammatti surprised me as a well thought out, sinister villian. He also brought quite a bit of humor into the movie, as subtle as it may have been.

I definitely recommend this movie for anyone who's looking for a lot of action. At a paltry 86 minutes, this movie won't take up much of your time, nor does it feel short, but will leave you talking about afterwards. It gave me quite the adrenaline rush. If you liked Sin City, I think there is a good chance you will like this movie. Some of the things they do are just freakin incredible! If you see it, let me know what you think!

On a different note, for anyone who is trying to monetize their blogs, Auction Ads is offering $25 to new publishers! You do have to make it to $50 for the first payout, but it can't hurt to try, and that $25 is great incentive to start publishing. I had to try something new on my birthday, so try it out if you're interested. I'll let you know how it works for me!

Well, I'm off to celebrate my birthday, by working!

Review: Superbad is Super Good

I finally got to see a movie on the weekend it opened! And it was GREAT. I do have to say that I did sneak in my own food, but mainly because my theatre does not sell Sno Caps or Iced Lattes. And those were really good. Anyway, saw Superbad in the biggest theatre of my building. There was a decent crowd on hand, about 200 I'd say, so I knew that the experience would be good. Can't complain about the crowd, they stayed pretty quiet except when they were uproariously laughing (which was quite a bit!)

On to the movie itself. The previews had hyped it up a lot. I was actually expecting it to be along the lines of some of my previous favorite comedies, such as Wedding Crashers, Dodgeball and 40-year old Virgin . All great films by the way. Superbad had me laughing right from the start. All of the raunchiness and things you would expect from a rated R comedy. From McLovin to Fogel, it was pure comedic genius. The duo from this movie actually reminded me of the duo from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. Something was pretty much always going on, causing a laugh or a groan from the audience.

The best part, as usual, was the crowd reactions to all the humor, and especially that of the girl's. She's had a thing with laughing at asian jokes (seeing as I'm asian) and this did not disappoint her in the least. For those of you who love to stay for the credits, there are some extremely interesting images for the first half of them. Nothing after that though, so feel free to leave when those are gone!

This movie is highly recommended. Get off your butts and into the theatres. You won't be disappointed!

My sister just started a blog. Intermission at Home. Way to copy me sis.

I've been thinking about getting my own domain name. Any of you thought to do that? I heard that it's better that way, but seeing as how this blog is pretty low on the money making for now, I'm going to hold off. However, I think I do have an idea for the contest I'm gonna run. Probably gonna be some movie trivia, so for those of you trivia buffs, get ready! I've got some pretty good movie paraphernalia to give away so keep an eye out for that soon!