[DVD]

This was a very entertaining movie. Cute even. The story of love and loss by a fifth grader (or something like that). I got this movie via recommendations from friends, and it was great. Don’t get me wrong, a bit on the cheeseball side, but you don’t really notice because you’re caught up in the movie. I don’t know if I cared about the characters in a traditional sense, but I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen to them.

I thought the acting was pretty good. The children actors I thought did a great job carrying the movie. I thought Bradley Whitmore did a great job as the dad, less so about Cynthia Nixon as the mom. Truthfully, they played an important subplot, but if it was removed from the movie, I don’t think it would’ve made the movie any worse. For all intents and purposes, parents in this movie could’ve been the “Wah-wah-wah-wah” Peanuts adults and it would’ve worked solely in the kids’ world.

I think this makes a great date movie. Works for the ladies, and while there aren’t any explosions, guns, car chases, I think guys could more relate to the main character in this movie, 11 years old or not, than most male characters in standard “chick flick”/rom-com fare.

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So I don’t understand this movie. It’s based on a book right? I’m not even going to bother looking it up and Amazon linking it (BTW, buy from Amazon via me folks. Put some shekels in my pocket, haha.).

So you have a movie that plays up every kind of negative female stereotype, that actively has a character succeed by following rules that play again said stereotypes, only to “discover” stereotypes are the better life? Though what could’ve I expected, the movie really does play to the stereotypical rom-com formula for most all of the relationships in the movie.

I’m sure everyone can, on some level, relate to one character or another or multiple characters in the movie, but it seemed to be a pretty mediocre effort. I thought the acting was passable. I mean how hard is it to play kind of crazy? (By everyone, not just the women.) Also, I didn’t think the talking heads/”When Harry Met Sally” [DVD] interview bits were at all useful, entertaining, necessary.

[DVD]

This movie was filmed by the same guy who did “State of Mind” [DVD]. Both documentaries on North Korea. “State of Mind” was about the Mass Games. I thought it was a really interesting view on North Korea. This movie is about U.S. soldiers, one in particular, who defected to North Korea and have lived there as part of that society since.

I have to say, I was extremely bored throughout this movie. The subject matter was interesting enough. And I’d certainly read a book about it, but in movie form, I just felt it was lacking any real compelling points. A lot of interesting, but nothing to grab you and pull you in. Which is a shame.

It’s not a bad watch. It’s an interesting glimpse into that part of the world. I’d say watch “State of Mind” over this.

[Blu-ray | DVD]

How to review this movie without coming off as some kind of chauvinist. It depicts women at their absolute worst. The movie itself is ridiculous beyond belief. Anne Hathaway >> Kate Hudson. Kate Hudson really looks like her mom. The last 10 or so minutes of this movie are so unbelievable I don’t even know how to talk about it. Not a good movie crestor 10 mg. Not at all.

So this was a pretty good movie. I think JJ Abrams has to be fully thought of as one of the current better/best action directors now browse around here. However, this and MI3, I think he tends to make movies that are 15-20 minutes longer than needed. I’m all for 2 hour plus movies, but these feel like it.

A lot of the reviews have mentioned the lens flares in the movie. To which Abrams replied something that basically sounds like “my future’s so bright (i gotta wear shades)”. Okay, the actual quote:

I know there are certain shots where even I watch and think, “Oh that’s ridiculous, that was too many.” But I love the idea that the future was so bright it couldn’t be contained in the frame.

So moving along. Everyone says this is a movie for fans as well as newbies, I think fans get more out of it than newbies. The tiny characteristics of each character are put up front, but only meaningful to people familiar with them. JJ Abrams certainly also has a thing for time travel. To take a line from the movie, it kind of feels like a cheat. Some things have to happen, just not the same way or something crazy “Lost” like.

You know they have totally setup the franchise for a gazillion more movies because this reboot really worked. And I sort of hope they do. I definitely enjoyed the movie. Oh I didn’t see it on IMAX, but I bet it’d be awesome on IMAX. Or IMAX lite (or as Aziz Ansari calls it “Bullshit IMAX”).

Mild spoiler to follow:

Oh, but I 100% don’t buy Kirk finally being officially captain. You have a recent grad, saving earth/Federation certainly gets him a commendation and certainly pushes him through the ranks quickly, but the FLAGSHIP of the Federation? Pfft.

[Blu-ray | DVD]

So this movie wasn’t all that original, but I enjoyed it very much. The plot is pretty basic. One part relationship troubles, one part mentor-mentee stuff, one part friendship stuff, one part transformation plus some curse words and some nudity and you have role models. That said, I thought it was a good watch because it seemed kind of earnest. None of the situations in the movie was any kind of real, but I thought it did a good job of showing the progression of the characters in their relationships. Just an enjoyable flick.

[DVD]

I kind of grew out of reading Chuck Palahnuik novels awhile ago. So I never read Choke. But I was excited when I heard it was becoming a movie. It came out in theatres to what seemed like lackluster reviews. I guess now that I’ve seen it, rightly so.

The movie kind of meanders its way to the end. It was written and directed by Clark Gregg and was definitely not as tight of a movie as Fight Club [DVD]. Of course that one was helmed by David Fincher. I just felt this movie didn’t really go anywhere. The flashback scenes seemed useless. I mean they showed the kind of nomad/fugitive life that created Sam Rockwell’s character, but just seemed to be there. Nothing about this movie really stood out to me. I know it’s not much of a review, but it just seemed like a bit of a lackluster effort all around.

[Blu-ray | DVD]

You know what I love about this movie? There is not a single subtle thing about it. Not a one. It doesn’t take itself too seriously (until the very end of the movie). It knows what it is and revels in it. It’s a definite throw back to the 70s and the 80s. Pick just about any cliche you can think of for a guy movie and it’s in here. Just great stuff.

I had zero interest in watching this when it came out in theatres. Usually Jason Statham + driving = me watching, but the whole weaponized car thing was just too much. I like old school driving Statham (i.e. Transporter 1). And I was never into the whole Mad Max [DVD] thing. But then Netflix decided to NOT send me any blu-rays. I even leave slots open, but no. So I have to add old movies and think might as well. And I’m glad I did. Just a fun time. Total unabashed guy movie.

I also think it’s pretty much a directorial requirement of Statham that he gets more ripped for each successive movie. Ian McShane does his normal gravelly thing. If you like 70s and 80s guy movies and need nearly two hours of mindless fun, this is your movie.

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This certainly wasn’t as entertaining as the first installment of the series. The story was fine. Rival to the king. Long lost son. Unrequited love. Etc, etc, etc. I guess the first one was a bit of a surprise to me. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but it just seemed a little stale this time around.

IMDB: Two Days in April

This is a pretty straightforward documentary about the NFL draft. It follows four players as they prepare for the draft. There was some legal issues keeping it from release, but all of that is boring. Of the four players, one had high draft position hopes and the rest were going to be late first day picks, or so they hoped.

The preparation part of the documentary was pretty simple. I think it’s not a big mystery that these guys go through inordinate amounts of training in preparation for the Senior Bowl, the Combine, or pro days on campus. The most riveting part of the documentary was watching the players and the families of the players watch the draft. Name after name being called and just waiting. And how heart breaking it was that they kept getting passed over. And the relief and jubilation that came with finally being selected.

This is a pretty good documentary for football fans. And the drama of the end makes it a decent documentary for non-football fans as well.