It's looking empty in here. I should really start posting in this again. Sometimes I am so full of worthy rants that never get told to anybody. They just get stored away inside my head never to be heard from again. So the hell with it. I'm just gonna start posting again at random. Random thoughts, random topics, random randoms! Laziness is the main thing that stops me, but I will concur it dammit! I always did like LJ better then all he other socially inept gathering sites. Seeing as Facebook and Twitter are all the rage now, I think I'm safe floating back into LJ world. So away we go once again!

I would post some life updates, but things are as usual. I tend to exist on a day to day basis. Like right now, for instance, i just came back from Toys R Us where they are having a pre thanksgiving/black friday/masterbation sale. Bought my nephew a "Kota the Triceratops" creature/toy/thing. It's basically a 3 foot animatronic dinosaur which the kiddies can sit on and interact with. Last year it retailed for $300 dollars. We paid $80 bucks. The box is HUGE. barely fit in my sisters car. It's in my room right now, I had to stick it in the corner with all the pictures covered so he wouldn't see what it is. He will probably flip out when he sees it.

As for myself, i bought a Bioshock Big Daddy action figure. It's about 8 inches in height, and very wide and heavy. It really is a badass looking thing. Collecting action figures is probably the geekiest shit I do. I have never been able to give it up either. All the characters I wanted as a kid they make now, and they make them aimed at collectors. So I have loads of movie and video game based figures on my shelves. It's almost like a museum. The Big Daddy will be a nice fit. just have to figure out where to put him since he's quite large. too bad he doesn't come with a Little Sister, but she is scheduled to be included with the Big Sister figure, due out next year in time for release of Bioshock 2: The Search for More Money . Also bought figures of the Boondock Saints recently. Never would have expected those to be made. This hobby is finite though I fear. The collectors market is running dry. Companies have just about run out of classic movie characters to make. Those they can get the license too anyway. the real big one thats coming out, that the dorks are salivating for is Regan from the Exorcist. It was supposed to come out this year, but it never did. I think the company is pushing the release of it so it can coincide with the release of the lu-ray of the movie, which is due out next year. So that's something creeppy as shit to look foward to. Anyways, wow look how much I have rambled! Fun! Looks like keeping this updated regularly might be easier then first thought....

Two quick reviews:

 

Gamer (C) - Gerard Butler stars as a death row convict playing in what is essentially a live action version of Halo. EXTREMELY familiar story line. Convict plays some kind of odd game but a billionaire megalomaniac to the entertainment of millions. Plays enough games, he gets a free pass to freedom...or does he! Anyway, the movie doesn't pretend to be new to this storyline, but it does add something to it: a realistic if not completely insane look at how it would actually work. Gamer shows how the world would look if we had video games were we controlled actual people. Aside from the run and gun game, there is also a Sims game in the movie. Imagine Sims, but instead of virtual people you controlled an ACTUAL person. This movie sounds absurd at every level. And it actually is. It isn't a GOOD movie, but it is so completely and utterly BIZARRE, and NEVER becomes bad. Never. I was sitting there going "huh....well this is not boring me. That works in its favor." There is just so much insanity, and just all out WIERDNESS going on in the film.....but if you think about it, that's EXACTLY what things would be life if we controlled actual people in video games. The sims game would be EXACTLY like that. The run and gun game would be EXACTLY like that(one player makes his soldier/convict actually teabag a dead body!). It's just an extremely bizarre movie. Plus the designs of the sets, the locations, they dont' stand out obnoxiously, but they are totally bizarre looking. That's the only way I can describe the movie. It's worth a watch, just to see something completely strange. Oh and Michael C. hall, Dexter himself, plays the megalomaniac billionare, and he steals the film. There's one part where he makes a group of soldiers sing and dance in unison along with himself before he sets them off to attack Gerard Butler. The thing is, he's an extremely good singer and dancer, so the ridiculously looking event actually WORKS! That's the thing with the movie, the nonsense is just too strange for it not to work. It saves the movie. Very, very bizarre little movie.

 

Extract (B) - Newest film from Mike Judge, director of Office Space and creator of Beavis and Butthear. Stars Jason Bateman as an owner of a flavor extract company who has to deal with idiot employees and a harpie of a wife in what appears to be a dead end marriage. The film isn't as clever or as charming as Office Space was, and the characters less memorable, but it's saved by Jason Bateman's likability. He's the type of poor schlub you want to see succeed and make it out ok, even if he does make bone headed decisions. Of course most of his bone headed decisions come about from the people around him so it isn't totally his fault So the movie is essentially about him, and the characters surrounding him. It's an amusing film, has some very funny and witty moments which keep the film afloat throughout. It's a typical Mike Judge film basically. If you liked his other stuff, you'll like this one. Simple as that. Definitely worth a netflix rental, especially if you call yourself a Mike Judge fan.

Inglorious Bastards: (A+) - After Tarantino released the nearly unwatchable Death Proof, I wondered if he still had it in him anymore, or if all he would do from here on out is release films that adhered to the belief in his own hype. Inglorious Bastards, which has been in the works for years, had a lot to live up for. Did Tarantino still have it? Could he make a good movie? How would Tarantino dialogue translate to a world war 2 movie? The result is this: Inglorious Bastards not only wipes Death Proof clear from memory, but it is without a shadow of a doubt the very best film Tarantino has put out since Pulp Fiction. This movie bears all the Tarantino characteristics. A heavy emphasis on character and dialogue. Characters with such personality they easily stand out amongst the crowd, HEAVY gore, sequences divided into chapters, and even a voice narration by Samuel L. Jackson. What it doesn't have is meandering dialogue which amounts to nothing. What it doesn't have is lack of focus. In fact, this is easily Tarantino's most coherent, straight forward story. Each of the film's sequences are not at all random, but part of a larger cohesive story, which all culminates in a massive, fiery, explosive climax, in which Tarantino actually changes HISTORY in order to fit his film. The movie runs at two and a half hours, but by the time it's over, you wont even have realized it. The movie flies, it feels like only an hour. It's the first time in a Tarantino movie in which all of the film's chapters serve to build up toward one big end. It really is remarkable, as you sit and think about the entire film, each chapter that you saw, and how it all fit perfectly together like a puzzle at the end. The film's structure is just beyond words.

 

As is the acting. Not a single weak performance. Brad Pitt's character if the walking embodiment of absurdity. But his character is NEVER treated as a joke, instead, his character is written and worked in a way where he perfectly fits his part in the story. Much is the same with the rest of the Bastards. Make no mistake, despite the movie being named after them, there only one chapter of this large, cohesive structure. They have a part to play, a role to fill. This is NOT a film about them, it's just a film that features them. Do not let that detract you in the slightest, it all works out perfectly. The real scene stealer of the film is actor Christoph Waltz who plays German SS Officer and "jew hunter" Hans Landa. Waltz character is the most straight forward one in the film, and he is absolutely diabolical. You can always see the gears working in his head as he schemes, and reads people, and simply stares right through them. It's a nuanced, charismatic, terrifying performance that's basically a guarantee for an Oscar nomination.

 

Tarantino has struck one hell of a home run with this film. It's compelling, extremely violent, vulgar, funny, and emotionally daring all at once. And he dares to just make a joke out of history to fit his needs. Hitler is played up as a complete joke in the film, as is Joseph Goebbels. And his accuracy to history is an absurd joke, and he knows it. He doesn't care. His daring pays off. It's the kind of film you simply can't believe you have just finished watching. It is so complex, but seems so completely simple in retrospect, you wonder how you were swallowed by the whole thing and spit back out so fast. This is not an action film at all, and more then half of the film is in subtitles. This is not a film for the impatient, or the brain dead, or the close minded. Everyone else though, will see what I call one of the top three best films I have seen this year. Absolutely brilliant.

District 9 (A+): District 9 is one of those extremely rare types of films in these times of endless sequels, remakes, reboots, and adaptations. It's something unique and original, compelling and exciting, and able to display an emotional level hardly scene in most films. It's easily the most unique film to come out this film, and the most original thing to hit since Cloverfield. The movie centers on this slum filled with millions of aliens who have been stranded on earth ever since they're ship stalled out in the skies of Africa some 20 years ago. One man gets entangled in something neither he nor the audience could ever expect, and it all centers upon District 9. That's the most I'll give away of this film. It's best to go in and be completely surprised by the turn of events that take place of the film, and there are many. This is a full on action packed chase film, and it's easily the best sci-fi film released in an extremely long time. Probably since The Matrix(only the first one, not the two pathetic sequels). It's compelling, exciting, heart wrenching and completely brilliant. By years end, District 9 will easily be one of the film highlights of the year. Proof that fantastic genre pictures can still be produced. It isn't the BEST film I have seen this year(Star Trek still holds that title), but it is absolutely up there. This is a must see film.

By the way, for those who are interested, i've been reading on some forums on the internets, some FYE employees have received, for future use, advertisement hang ups to be placed around the store advertising a new low price for the PS3. You can get an 80GB for $299 or a 120GB model WITH the game Uncharted for $399. Fantastic deals for a fantastic system, which includes what is arguabl the best blu-ray player on the market. For the first year I owned the PS3 i played little to no games on it. I mainly used it for blu-ray. Wasn't only until late last year where I finally got back into video games. Uncharted was one of those that helped me get my passion for video games back in full. It's a brilliant game, and a must own for the system. No word yet on when the price cut will actually happen, but i'll keep you posted.

G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (B+) - G. I. Joe is a dumb movie. It's brain dead, it's plot is as thin as a paper, its lazily written, has countless flashbacks, and is nothing more then a huge spectacle. A massive, ridiculous film which is essentially a masturbatory gung ho pro American military film. It's essentially EXACTLY what the cartoon and comics were. And I loved every second of it! I knew nothing about G.I. Joe going in. Was never a fan of the cartoon. But I know what the cartoon was. Just a gung ho pro military group. Basically what Team America: Word Police was making fun of. The film is EXACTLY that. It is G.I. Joe, plain and simple. For all the bitching about accelerator suits, the suits amounted to nothing. All the geeks bitching, and the suits appear ONCE in the movie, in what is the films BEST sequence: a massive chase through Paris, which destroys most of the city. It's completely ridiculous, and will leave you smiling and shaking your head at the same time. This movie is nothing more then a live action cartoon. What makes it so entertaining is the linear style of the story and action. It isn't like Transformers 2 which did nothing with itself except through an infinite amount of chaos at the screen in an apparent hope of making your brain explode. The action sequences in this mostly resemble something you see in one of the Star Wars prequels. Huge action set pieces which are fleshed out, but are as big as you can get. The other interesting aspect, ALL the major characters have personality, and their own time to shine. This is a huge cast, with A LOT of villains and a big group of heroes. And nobody gets shafted! All the villains are fleshed out, and are made to be actual threats. They aren't just throw away's.  They are an actual menace. And seeing as this is essentially the first of what will be a franchise, the villains still have room to grow. Only by films end do some of them start to fully become who you knew from the cartoon. Most fun to watch was Joseph Gorden-Levitt(the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun) who plays none other then Cobra Commander. I could never picture that guy as playing someone like Cobra Commander. But he's simply too much fun to watch, playing up the role and clearly having a blast with it. But everyone does good work, and no one winks at the camera. They all know what they are in, and everyone looks like they are having a ball. I actually liked all of the characters! All the heroes, all the vaillians, and I would love to see this grow into a franchise just so I can see more of them.

 

G.I. Joe is the "Wanted" of this year. A movie that read like trash on paper, looked ridiculous from the trailers, but turned out to be one of the most fun films of the summer. No film is as brain dead and entertaining as this one. It demands nothing of you, and just wants to blow shit up and make you forget life for 2 hours. On that level, it completely succeeds. So in terms of brain dead summer popcorn films, G.I. Joe is one of the best. Take it for what it is, and you'll have a great time watching it. And if you were a fan of the cartoon, you WILL love it. Now who wants a body massage?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (A+) - I noticed something interesting in the first 15 or so minutes of this newest Harry Potter film. The franchise has now completely grown up. I dont think I have ever sat through a Harry Potter film that has floated along so smoothly, so connected, and so well rounded as this one. This is easily the best adapted of all the books thus far, and easily the best in the film series thus far. The connection to the characters, their pains their struggles, the emotional connection you feel to them, for the first time, gets pushed to the front of the film, instead of being background to all the magic and wonder. This felt like a completely different film from the rest. It was mature, and grown up in a way the others were not. It's clear the director (also same guy who did Order of the Phoenix) has grown comfortable with the film, and is now fully confident of what he wants to do with these films. All of the actors as well gave some of the best performances seen in these films thus far.

 

I see already some idiots are getting frustrated and let down at this films slower pace, and more attention to story and character instead of action. It truly AMAZES me how stupid people are. If you want brainless action and minimal story, Transformers 2 is still playing. If you want something with substance, then this is it. Like Star Trek and Up before it, Half-Blood Prince takes a fantastical setting and uses it to create real characters you give a shit. If not for this being an obvious part of a larger franchise, it could almost stand alone in terms of look and style. This is also the first Potter film where the changes made from book to film felt like an overall improvement. This film did a masterful job of including all the necessary stuff while happily omitting the filler. And even when tragedy sets at the end, when you have read the book and KNOW what is coming, the scene is handled with such PERFECT acting, and great suspense, it still managed to make me tear up.

 

The end result of a cast and crew now completely confident of what they are doing and what they want to accomplish in this franchise has resulted in what is this series most mature and emotionally compelling film to date. It is also the perfect set up for what is sure to be a chaotic finally. A finale that is guaranteed to be a beast of a film (or in this case, FILMS). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is nothing short of one of the very best films put out this year. A must see.

Public Enemies (C+) - Like David Lynch, digital film will be the downfall of Michael Mann. digital film allows a director to shoot anything, anywhere, at random, no strings. This sounds like it should be a good thing, but for some people, it simply causes them to shoot shit at random and lose all sense of narrative. Hence is the problem with Public Enemies. The movie lacks any sense of a proper narrative. Supposedly its about the last year int he life of John Dillinger, but apparently it wasn't a very fun year. I mean, he robs some banks. I counted about 3 robberies in the film. Two and a half hour film. The film basically consists of randomness, sporadically interrupted by important real life events on Dillinger's life. It is the fact that this is based on a true story, and on someone's actual life, that keep the movie from becoming completely random and incoherent. Mann MUST stick to some kind of focus because of true events.  It's those sequences of the film where things get interesting! Dillinger's jail breaks, his bank robberies, and one outstanding gun battle that takes place in a  cabin in the woods. Nobody can direct shoot outs like Michael Mann. Nobody. That one in particular, was thrilling. Depp's performance was also top notch. Sadly though, the characters are never really given depth. Just broad strokes. It's as if Mann believes if you get too deep into the characters, they lose their appeal and the cease to become "cool". Mann is more interested in making characters look "cool" instead of being human. I don't know why this is. He's managed to find the perfect balance of this before, in particular Collateral, where he managed to give both depth emotion and a proper connection to both Jamie Foxx character and even the normally would be shallow assassin played by Tom Cruise. And Cruise was a badass in that movie. So there is a balance! Mann has just become too fixated on style instead of depth. So you never get more then a broad painting of who Dillinger was, but Depp plays it perfectly none the less, trying desperately to add a layer to the character that wouldn't normally be there. You can tell Depp truly believes in his character and makes the most of this film as he can.

 

Christian Bale is also in the movie as Melvin Purvis, the cop on the hunt for Dillinger. Bale's role is essentially thankless, since its even more vague and underwritten then Dillinger. Anybody could have played this role, and you'd get the same out of it. It's a shame because his character was more complex in reality then he is in the film. Mann's attention is obviously to Dillinger. One brief performance that did stick out though was Dr. Manhattan himself, Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover. He played Hoover exactly as the ferocious asshole that he was. It  isn't a big role at all, but Crudup is excellent in it. Also a standout, british actor Stephen Graham (who i dont think i've ever seen in anything before) does a fantastic job as the utterly maniacal gangster Baby Face Nelson. But this is Depp's film. He owns it, and he, along with some sporadic excellently done sequences save the film.

 

In the end, you don't really learn much about Dillinger. You don't learn what makes him tick, you dont get a sense of who he actually was. You basically just get a voyeurs view of a time in his life. It's a shame because with a little tightening and restraint, this could have been a very fun cat and mouse gangster flick. It oozes style, but has nowhere to put it. Michael Mann's downfall is digital filmmaking. Digital film allows him to shoot at random and basically string shit together on a whim. This is what DESTROYED his Miami Vice movie. Like David Lynch, he needs some form of restraint or his style a visual flair overwhelm the narrative. Only because this was actual life was he held back. History managed to restrain him. I fear the next film he does, if its based off his own idea, it may just end up being a complete mess. We'll have to wait and see. I'll give Mann one more chance before I deem him no longer worthy of running to the theater for. One thing is evident, he will never top HEAT. That movie remains his masterpiece.

 

So is it worth seeing? Yeah check it out of you want, but wait for rental. It's not worth the trip to the theater. This is a movie that plays far better on the small screen.

Drag Me to Hell: (A) - Sam Raimi does indeed return to his Evil Dead roots with this completely insane, grotesque, horror film which doesn't hold any punches. Its obviously it only got away with the PG-13 rating for lack of blood(mostly). Raimi unleashes his old bag of tricks with this film, proving he still has it in him to deliver one hell of a horror/comedy, complete with characters laughing maniacally and talking animals. If your a fan of Sam Raimi's brand of lunacy, then this movie is a nice return to form. Endless fun.

 

The Hangover: (A+) - One of the most unapologetic comedies released in recent years, this movie is essentially the Vegas experience at it's most decadent. Movie is about 4 guys who go out to Vegas to celebrate one of their bachelor parties, and wake up the next morning with no memory of the previous nights events. And the groom is now missing! So the remaining three have to retrace their steps and try to figure out what they did, and where their friend is! The best part of the film is seeing how all the pieces fall into place and seeing just what exactly these crazy bastards did. The movie does not apologize for its decadence, and never lets up in its profanity. It's insane until the very end. It's a comedy with balls! No morals, no teachings, just debauchery. Probably the funniest movie to be released about the Vegas experience. A must see.

Up: (A+) - A year ago, when I walked out of theater for Wall-E, I thought what I had just seen the zenith of what Pixar could do. I thought it was their ultimate triumph. Something they would never be able to top. I was completely wrong. Up is not only the best film pixar has done, it is also one of the best films I have ever seen in my life, period. On the surface, from all the trailers, this appears to be just a simple movie about an old man getting away from it all by tying thousands of balloons to his house and floating away to who knows where. What the trailers fail to show you, is just how deep and emotional this story is. The reason why he is taking his house and heading off to South America is both touching and heartbreaking. There is a montage, right at the very beginning of the film which shows the old man's and his wife's life, and how he has come to be where he is now, that is so stunning, so heart wrenching, so amazingly well done, it, in the 5 minutes of screen time it occupies, contains more emotional depth then 99% of the live action movies you will see this year. It is a montage that literally brought tears to my eyes. This is Pixars most deeply emotional film. Both the old man, and the little child that comes along for the ride have deep emotional stories which are completely grounded in reality, so the point where they could almost be actually seen as quite serious. It is Pixar's ability to throw a constant amount of wit and charm to their films which keep them from ever becoming more serious then they ever need to be. Up is an enchanting, heartbreaking, and yet completely joyful film about love, life and friendship. It is nothing short of a beautiful movie which brought tears to me eyes more then once. I can't decide which is the better film between this one and Star Trek. It's gonna take some repeat viewing's of both for me to finally decide by years end. All I know is, movies rarely get better then Up.

 

Next weekend, we got comedy! Two for one deal: Sam Raimi's return to Evil Dead style horror/comedy Drag Me To Hell, and The Hangover. I will post times as I get them, so keep an eye out.

Terminator Salvation: (A) - Why is this movie getting such rotten reviews? Seriously what are people expecting from this movie? It' delivers exactly as intended. If you go in expecting a balls out action sci-fi flick, that's EXACTLY what you get. The days of philosophical terminator movies ended with part 2. They ended when James Cameron left the franchise. It's now become balls out action sci-fi flicks cause that's pretty much all you can do with this series now. And this one delivers the goods. We catch up with grown up John Connor leading resistance fighters against skynet, who have all sorts of insane looking machines. Also in play, a strange new character names Marcus Wright, who is more then meets the eye. Also showing up, Kyle Reese! The movie is filled with nods towards the original two films, including an outstanding CGI aided cameo towards the end which will have you cheering. This was a fun, brain dead, flat out awesome scifi action flick, filled with stunning set pieces and some of the best CG work ever put to film. Pay no mind to the negative reviews, this movie delivers the goods.

 

Up next is, well, UP! The latest from pixar. It's already getting STUNNING reviews, some even saying it's better then Wall-E. I never thought that possible, but this is Pixar we're talking about. The weekend after that we're doing a twofer. Seeing The Hangover and Drag Me To Hell, which is a new horror/comedy directed by none other then SAM RAIMI. The early reviews for that one have been outstanding, each one saying that Raimi goes directly back to his EVIL DEAD style of directing for the film. That should make for some good times!