Cars 2

Finally back. It has been a while since I wrote a review but I was just getting exhausted from writing so much that I needed a break. I went back to watching some of my favorite TV shows and if I have a suggestion I would watch Parks and Recreation which may be the funniest show on the planet. So I decided to go see Cars 2 yesterday because I am a huge Pixar fan so I was excited to see it. I was worried though because it had been around that Cars 2 was the first "flop" of the Pixar films so I was a bit nervous. Nevertheless I was excited to see another Pixar film on the big screen.

Cars 2 stars all the big names from the first Cars film like Lightning McQueen and Mater. This time around McQueen has been dominating the Piston Cup races while Mater and friends stay back in Radiator Springs. A new alternative fuel company is now sponsoring a new World Gran Prix and McQueen wants Mater to join him. Unfortunately Mater's antics start causing a problem in his friendship and McQueen tells him to go back to Radiator Springs. On his way back, Mater gets confused as a secret agent by British Intelligence agents McMissile and Shiftwell. Now Mater must work with the secret agents to stop the plan to ruin the Gran Prix, grow up, and fix his friendship with McQueen to make things right again.

Casino

I haven't written a review in forever but every once in a while I need a break or else this gets exhausting. Since the few movies that came out this weekend that look interesting, Green Lantern and Mr. Popper's Penguins, got awful reviews I decided to stay in this weekend and watch some Netflix. I have been trying to finish Scorsese for a while now and Casino is one of the few on my list. I had heard that it was like Goodfellas 2 so I was definitely interested.

Casino, directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, and Joe Pesci. The movie is about Sam "Ace" Rothstein and Nicky Santoro running the mob business in Las Vegas. Sam is the operator of the Tangiers Casino making sure that it makes money and to kick out all the cheaters. Nicky is the strongman that straightens loose ends and controlling the locals. Soon Sam falls in love with Ginger, a smooth hustler, and tries to straighten her. As time passes, Nicky falls into violence and drugs that put the mob operation in jeopardy and Ginger falls into alcohol as the Feds start catching on to Sam and the mob's questionable ways. Will Nicky and Ginger be able to escape their addictions? Will the Feds catch the mob? Read on to find out...

The Ridiculous Pricing Of Movies

I need to talk about something that is causing a problems with the movie going experience. For those who go to the movies know what I am talking about and today I wanted to asses the problem and then propose my solutions to it. It might never make a difference but hell it bothers the crap out of me.

THE PROBLEM: The amount of money it costs to go to the movies is getting ridiculous. To go see a movie these days it costs around $10. For me at my theater it costs $10.50. Why is this getting so expensive? At the same time that I don't understand I do understand. The theater does need the money to take care of its employees, the costs of purchasing a movie, and running the everyday costs of the building. But $10 is just way too much. Just a few years ago it would cost around 7 dollars. And I understand that it is tough times but at the same time these rising prices are going to overall hurt the theater in the long run and here is why. At some point people will get tired of having to pay so much for going to the movies and they will have to choose only the great crowd pleasures to actually go the movie theater. So the smaller films will not get good money in the box office and studios will lose money. Then studios will start becoming more paranoid about what films to produce and eventually less films will be made, less people will have jobs because of this, and overall money will be lost. So how do we fix this? Here is what I think:

THE SOLUTION: The first part to this solution is for the studio to start planning their money better. Stop spending money on movies that are going to bomb where that movie could be much better used. Examples include "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer" "The Adventures Of Pluto Nash" "Mars Needs Moms" "Catwomen" "Son Of The Mask" are just a few examples. If the studios were smart and actually decided to cancel some of these films they would have more money for better films which would conclude with a  better box office and help with profits so that they wouldn't have to charge theaters so much and therefore lower ticket prices. See if the studios would sell more tickets then they would get just as much money as selling a sad amount of high priced tickets for a bad movie. So we need to put pressure on the studios to make better films. If they make better films overall, ticket numbers will go up and then the studios and the theaters will not need to have the prices so high. We also need to lower the price because even if we only increase ticket numbers for the good films, both parties will still feel no pressure to lower prices. Maybe a boycott is necessary but something will need to pressure the price.So we must boycott the horrible films, support the really good ones, and pressure lowering the price

Realistically: The prices probably won't drop because people, including me, will continue to see movies. As long as they keep making them people will be in the theater to see them. If I have any suggestions try to go to the matinee showing or just wait for it on DVD, Online, or on TV. 

Now a lot of this is idealistic but its hopeful and it's my thoughts. I can't stand these prices and let's hope something changes. What are you thoughts? Am I being ridiculous? Do I have good ideas? Comment! Enjoy! And watch some movies!

Top Ten Movie Endings! First Top Ten!

Hey Ladies and Gents! I have always enjoyed doing Top lists when it comes to movies fro some reason, I guess I just like ranking the best of the best so I thought that it would be a good idea to start doing a weekly Top Ten list. For the first week I decided to do Endings, Definitely watch out for spoilers, enjoy! Comment! and watch some movies!

How To Train Your Dragon "Everything we know about you guys is wrong"

I am not going to lie, Dreamworks Animation is not my favorite studio. They ruined the Shrek franchise with 3 and 4 which were absolutely dreadful. Then they made garbage like Bee Movie, Over The Hedge, and Shark Tale. It is sad because at the same time they have done great movies like Prince Of Egypt and Kung Fu Panda. So I had been weary to see this movie, worried that it would also turn out to be a major disaster. After seeing the awesome Kung Fu Panda 2 though, I decided to give this movie a chance and see how it did. Hopefully this movie would change my mind on Dreamworks Animation, but did it? Read on to find out...

How To Train Your Dragon (HTTYD) is about a viking named Hiccup who is different from the other vikings. He is small and very lightweight while the others are fighters and strong men. Their village must survive by fighting off dragons and protecting their food for winter so if you can't fight you are seen as worthless in the eyes of the vikings. Unfortunately his father is the leader of the Vikings and Hiccup feels that he must prove to his dad his worth but shooting down the terrifying Night Fury. When he successfully takes down the dragon, he realizes that he cannot kill it and sets it free. The dragon though lost half of his tail wing and cannot fly anymore. Hiccup decides to help by building him a replacement wing and taming him at the same time. Hiccup and Night Fury, or Toothless, form a strong friendship and Hiccup learns along the way that dragons are not furious creatures but animals that are trying to survive just like the vikings. So Hiccup and Toothless must change the way of the Vikings and save the day before either humans or the dragons destroy one another.

The Lives Of Others "I'm your audience"

I always try to keep in touch with international cinema. Every time I do I always get surprised and find a good story and a well done piece of film. The last foreign film I saw was from France so I thought I would change it up a bit and see German cinema. This movie also won the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Picture so I was interested to see this movie for a while. Plus on some of my favorite sites and podcasts this movie had been brought up multiple times. If you can't tell, I have been waiting for this one for a while. So would it be worth the wait? Read on to find out...


The Lives Of Others is set in the 1980s in the former East Berlin. Agent Wiesler works for the Stasi secret police and has been given a new assignment. He must wire and observe a writer, Georg, and his lover, Christa-Maria who is also an actress, and try to find any suspicious activity. As the observations continue, Wiesler becomes more and more interested in their lives. He finds out that Christa-Maria is cheating on Georg and goes out of his wave to make Georg catch her in the act. But things are bigger than Wiesler realizes, as Georg starts to plan to write material against East Berlin, a serious offense. As the government tries to catch Georg, Wiesler must decide if his loyalty lies in the state or with his newest obsessions.

Exam "Any Questions?"

One of my favorite things about movies are trailers. They are so exciting and bring a lot of anticipation and entertainment to movies. Some of my favorites are The Social Network, Inception, and my new favorite The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. So I always pay close attention to trailers to see what looks good and what doesn't. This film, Exam, is one of the films that caught my eye by its trailers. It look fun, tense, and most of all exciting. So I had been wanting to watch this film for a while. Recently one of my friends from college also mentioned it saying that it was a good watch, so it was about time that I say down to watch this flick. So what did I think of it? Read on to find out...

Exam is a thriller directed and written by Stuart Hazeldine that opens up by introducing up to 8 people all in a room to take an "exam". An Invigilator enters and lays out some rules for the exam. We slowly learn throughout the film that these people are applying for a high position in a prosperous company. When the exam starts, all the candidates have are a pencil and a blank piece of paper. The candidates must find out what the question is and how to answer before the time runs out or before they destroys themselves. Who will get the job? What is the question? Read on to find out...

Elizabethtown "I'm impossible to forget, but I'm hard to remember"

I had not seen Elizabethtown in a long time to tell the truth and I am not sure I would have ever watched it again if it weren't for one Joe Weins. Joe had recently been getting on my case calling this the "greatest movie ever made" and I was so intrigued why he had chosen this one. I was a huge Cameron Crowe fan so any of his movies I was glad to watch again. So he came on over and we popped in Elizabeth town to see if I had missed something on my original viewing that would help me understand the "greatest movie ever made" according to Joe Weins.

Elizabethtown stars Orlando Bloom as Drew Baylor, a shoe designer who has just recently caused his company to lose one billion dollars. Drew decides to commit suicide but right before he does, he gets a call from his sister informing him that his father has died. On the flight over to Elizabethtown, Kentucky he meets flight attendant Claire (Kristen Dunst) who is different than his typical cup of tea. Drew must now deal with all his family in Kentucky while dealing with the death of his father and his feelings for Claire. During this wild journey Drew learns about himself, his family, Claire, and most of all his father.

All Quiet On The Western Front "War isn't the way it looks back here"

I have always been a big fan of war films ever since seeing Saving Private Ryan. I thought that it was amazing how films could take us back to battles and give us the best look at what really happened. At the same time though do we really understand what it was like? War was more than just battles and fights. There was loss, corruption, and eventually death. That's what All Quiet On The Western Front (AQOTWF) is all about. It explores what these men in the trenches really experienced and gives a not so bright vision of World War I. The original book written by a veteran from WWI, this movie came out in 1930, but would it still have the same impact today that it had back then? Read on to find out...

AQOTWF is about a group of German schoolboys who got caught up in the patriotism of their teacher and decide to sign up for the war. They are excited to be the iron men of Germany and can't wait to see some action. Slowly and surely, everything they thought about the military is not what they hoped for. Their boot camp is exhausting but things only get worse as the boys get shipped out to see their first action. As the boys see death and horror surround them, their numbers decrease and their emotions run rampant. The film explores their changes in personality because of the war and and lasting effect the fighting has on them.

True Lies "You're Fired"

True Lies has always been a favorite movie of my parents ever since it came out. Whenever it is on they usually watch it and still enjoy it to this day. I also wanted to see it because it was a pre-1997 Cameron film which means it should be awesome. If you don't understand what that means here is an explanation: in 1997 James Cameron's Titanic came out and he hasn't done anything good since, and that includes Titanic. So anything before 1997 means Cameron gold. So let's see what is more than meets the eye with True Lies.

True Lies is about secret agent Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who doubles as a husband and father to Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Dana. Harry, while trying to fix his family relations, believes that his wife is cheating on him. As he tries to pull a prank to get back at her, he accidentally gets her caught up in his spy work and puts her and Dana in danger. Now Harry might fight against an fundamentalist Islamic group and stop their plans of nuclear proportions and save his family all at the same time.

The Thing "Why don't we just wait here for a little while, see what happens"

One of my favorite movie genres is horror because sometimes it produces some of the best film making in cinema (Silence of the Lambs) and it also scares the crap out of me at times. The Exorcist, Paranormal Activity, Poltergeist, and Psycho all have been horrifying and yet have a lot of cinematic value. The Thing was one of those cinematic horror films that I had heard about so I was excited to see it. At the same time I had not seen anything by director John Carpenter so needless to say I had some expectations for this flick. Read on to see how I felt

The Thing is about a group of American scientists in Antartica conducting studies until one day they encounter mad Norwegians trying to kill a dog. They stop the Norwegians and take the dog in and try to investigate what drove the foreigners crazy. Slowly, the dog becomes more and more suspicious until at one point the team realizes that the dog is indeed an alien that adapts to anything he touches. Even though they kill the dog, the scientist are leery about each other and soon turn against one another suspecting each other to be the alien.Will the crew be able to find and kill the alien before it touches everyone? Will they be able to stop it from getting to mainland and conquering the planet? Read on...

American History X "Has anything you've done made your life better?"

American History X is a film like no other that causes you to explore not only the modern history of race relations but also your own perspective of race relations. Not since Do The Right Thing was film able to give so much power and provide a great medium to allow discussion and analysis of the subject. I didn't know about this film until I passed it on youtube and was able to watch the whole thing. It really made an impact on me unlike any film before it. Now since then I have seen multiple films that have deeply impacted me but American History X will never leave my mind. It is powerful, deep, emotional, and a masterpiece. Read on to get my full on analysis about American History X.

American History X focuses on two brothers Derek (Edward Norton) and Danny (Edward Furlong). Both are involved in a white supremacist movement in L.A. and are heavily involved in racial hate crimes. One day, Derek kills two African Americans and is put in jail. After being paroled 3 years later, Derek must come back home and fix the damage he has done. Danny has become more involved in the supremacist movement and Derek must share his experience and teach him to stop his feelings of hate. Will Derek be able to save Danny from the never ending cycle of hate? Or will Danny be drawn back into the white supremacist movement and continue crime against those different form him? Read on for a long, full analysis of one of my all time favorite films.

Easy A

Easy A is a film I have been hearing about for a while. Since it came out last fall, people from my freshmen hall went out to see it. They came back bragging about how funny it was calling it the new Mean Girls. Then my parents went out to see it and they couldn't stop talking about it. So it was about time that I finally catch this film and see if it matches up to what everyone had been telling me. I will admit I did want to see Emma Stone pull out another great performance and it was going to be nice seeing Thomas Haden Church in a comedic performance again. Read on to see if I enjoyed Easy A.

Easy A is about Olive, a high school girl whose life gets turned around after a little white lie about losing her virginity spreads like wildfire around the school. Even after Olive tries to fix her mistake, kids are still convinced that she lost her V-Card.  Soon people approach her and offer her money to continue her "lies" and to help out with their social reputation. As the lies build up, in reflection with Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Olive must decide to either continue the lie or to reveal the truth.

Super 8 "I believe you"

Remember when movies had an epic scale and a huge heart to boost? That a movie could have a huge production value with great mystery and political statements but at the same time be emotional and touching? These days it is hard to find those films. As we look back to the past we see films like either the Goonies or E.T. and get nostalgic. Thankfully, J.J. Abrams has given us a wonderful film that brings back that style. Giving the same feel that he gave Cloverfield but adding to the youth and emotional storyline that we haven't seen in one of these movies for so long. Now before I get rambling more let me give ya a synopsis, keep reading to get the rest of my feelings on Super 8.

Super 8 is a movie about a boy Joe and his friends who are trying to make a film. At the beginning of the film we learn that Joe's Mom has died in a factory accident and he is left with his father and it is clear they don't have a perfect relationship. As Joe tries to help his friend shoot the movie, Alice joins the shoot and Joe falls for her. During one night of shooting, a train passes and collides with a truck, leaving a trail of devastation and destruction along with something busting out of the cargo. As chaos ensues in the town, the military tries to cover everything up along with keeping secrets from police and citizens. The thing that busted out starts kidnapping people and eventually kidnaps Alice. So Joe must sneak past the military, save Alice, and try to find out what the thing is from the train before the military catches it.

Caché (Hidden) "I wanted you to be present"

I really want to start off this review by suggesting my readers to, if you haven't already, to really watch some international cinema. You would find some awesome stories, great direction, and exciting, thrilling characters. I used to be bias and not enjoy international cinema but recently I have realized that they are sometimes better than half the movies that come out here in America. I highly suggest to explore international cinema because you will enjoy it more than you may believe. So for this week's taste of international cinema I decided to check out Haneke's Caché (Hidden). Haneke caught my eye with Funny Games and I was always interested in seeing what else he had to offer for cinema. So what is Caché (Hidden) and will it be another great piece of international cinema? Read on and find out...

Caché (Hidden) is about a regular family the Laurents including Georges (Daniel Auteuil), Anne (Juilette Binoche), and their son Pierrot. Their normal life is shaken when they start receiving video tapes of his family and his life. The tapes are outside of his house, following him, or even taping his conversations. Since the police won't help, Georges must dig into his past to try to discover who is doing this and Anne must dig the truth out of her husband all while trying to keep her family from falling apart. Who is sending the tapes? What in Georges' past is the key to the mysterious camera man? Watch Caché (Hidden) or read my review to find out...

Equilibrium "If you like action then watch this movie!!!!"

The first time I heard about this movie was on a list of best action scenes. I am always a big fan of action movies so this one got on my list of must sees. With the recent boom of Christian Bale's talent over the years this one was always sticking in my mind. Luckily my house has a Tivo so I am able to record a bunch of movies that I am interested in. This one popped up on the guide so I made sure to tivo it and I was finally able to watch it. So would Equilibrium be able to meet my expectations and keep me interested? Read on to find out...

Equilibrium stars in the distant future after World War III when the world has decided to prohibit emotions in order to stop war and violence. The government created a drug named Prozium which sedates people's emotion. In result, a special task force was created to hunt down anyone or thing that conveys emotion. John Preston (Christian Bale) is the elite cleric, who after killing his partner for showing emotion, stops taking the drug and starts exploring his emotions and the corrupted government system. As Preston explores the world of emotion he decides to help the resistance and take down the tyrant government. Will Preston be able to take down the government and bring emotion back to the world? Or will the clerics be able to catch him and continue the reign of terror? Beware of spoilers ahead

Clerks "I wasn't even supposed to be here today!"

Kevin Smith has always been a fun director in my point of view not necessarily because of his films but because of his personality. He is a smart man and knows a lot about cinema. He also is fucking hilarious so I had been trying to watching his first movie Clerks for a while now and thank you Netflix for finally signing with Miramax because I was now given that opportunity. So would Smith's first feature be worth the wait? Read on to find out...

Clerks is about a day in the life of people behind the counter. The main protagonist, Dante (Brian O'Halloran), is called in to work at the convenience store when he was supposed to have the day off. He hangs out with his current girlfriend (Marilyn Ghigliotti) and his video store clerk friend Randal (Jeff Anderson). As the day progresses Dante must deal with weird and annoying customers while dealing with his high school ex and trying to not lose his job. At the same time he plays hockey on the roof, visits a funeral, and gets charged for selling cigarettes to a minor.

Irreversible "Time Destorys Everything"

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts "The Film Vault" and their list was the Top 5 Most Disturbing Films list and this film had come up as number 1 on the list. Now I had heard about this movie multiple times and I needed to catch some Gasper Noe in my film watching resume. Now I must give clear warning to people before you consider watching it. It is not for the faint of heart. There are a lot of disturbing images and shots in this film and it was hard for me to watch at points. At the same time, it is all for a great point and has meaning but it is still hard to watch. So be warned, not for the faint of heart.

Irreversible is a movie shot in reverse chronological order about one traumatic night for 3 people: a couple and the girl's past ex. The movie is about Alex (Monica Bellucci) who when leaving a party gets abused and raped by a mysterious man. The follows Alex's boyfriend (Vincent Cassel) and ex (Albert Dupontel) has they search the city to get revenge. It also follows the couple before the rape and explores their relationship and friends. Beware spoilers.

The Hustler "How Can I Lose?"

 Paul Newman, ever since he passed away, has become sort of an icon in my eyes. I did not know much about Newman at first but lately I have seen a lot of him. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Sting. Road to Perdition. The Hudsucker Proxy. The Verdict. Cool Hand Luke. The list goes on and on and he will forever be remembered through his films and the impact he made on acting. So The Hustler was a classic that I needed to get my hands on and just recently Netflix made me happy by streaming it. So hopefully Newman was going to once again amaze me.

The Hustler is about Eddie Felson (Paul Newman), a pool hustler, who is on a mission to defeat pool shark Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). After losing, Eddie must get his life back together in order to face Fats again. On the way he meets Sarah and falls for her and tries to balance pool with her. Bert (George C. Scott) soon catches up to Eddie and makes him an offer to take down Fats but while working for Bert. Eddie must decide if he is willing to let his competitive edge ruin his life and if his obsession will ruin his relationship with Sarah all before the big showdown with Fats.

A History Of Violence "Tell me the Truth"

 This is one of those movies that when it came out, I thought that it looked awful. I wasn't the biggest Viggo Mortensen fan and I didn't even know who David Cronenberg was. But that was a long time ago and I am completely different. Recently I have become a Cronenberg fan after The Fly, Videodrome, and especially eXistenZ. So I needed to check this movie out to see if it was as good as some critics had been saying.

A History Of Violence is about Tom Stall, played by Viggo Mortensen, an average all-American husband and father who is living a life of normalcy with his wife played by Maria Bello. Tom's life gets hit with a shock wave after he saves his restaurant from criminals and becomes a local hero. Suddenly mysterious men show up in the small town and claim that Tom is not all that he seems to be. Tom's life is turned upside down and his wife must figure out the truth about her husband, his past, and who he really is. Is Tom Stall someone else? Is his life a lie? Read on to find out. Beware spoilers.

X-Men First Class "Killing will not bring you peace"

Well finally X-Men First Class had its midnight premiere and boy was I excited but it was also the end of a long road. When they first announced they were doing X-Men First Class I was worried that it was going to be another crap pile like X3 The Last Stand. As time passed and a great cast and crew were put on board, this film started to gain some confidence. Then the reviews started to come in and I was relieved and excited to see the X-Men is top form. So did it meet my expectations? Was it worth the wait? Read my full review to find out!

X-Men First Class takes the story back to its origins before mutants were known in the public. Erik Lehnsherr, played by Michael Fassbender, is on a mission to avenge his mother and learn more about his magnetic powers every day. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), with childhood friend Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), join forces with the CIA to stop a rouge team of evil mutants from starting World War III. Erik and Charles meet up and join forces and recruit mutants from across the globe, but will they be able to stop the Hellfire Club? Will Charles be able to help Erik's rage before it gets the better of him? Read on...

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Kaufman and Gondry. What a pair. This 2004 flick flew under my radar until my senior year of high school and man am I glad I caught it. It is a film that not many heard of but when you do hear about it, you want to talk to everyone about it. I remember on my dorm hall freshman year, a bunch of people who saw my Eternal Sunshine poster either said "huh?" or "oh my god you have seen that movie! what did you think?". It is definitely a movie that you do not forget.

A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake. Clementine while dealing with the after effects of the procedure must deal with new love and life after Joel. At the same time, the company hired to erase Joel's memory must keep themselves from falling apart. Keep reading for my review, beware of spoilers.
5 out of 5 stars.

Thor "I need a horse!"

Even though Fast Five had already came out, I consider that Thor was the first "blockbuster" type film of the summer and marked the beginning of summer cinema. Out of all the movies coming out this summer I must admit that I was nervous more about Thor than any other. I liked Thor in the comic books and always saw him as a badass but was worried that Marvel was not going to be able to transition him to film easily. Thor had a lot of backstory to cover and it would be hard to condense it to a pleasable fashion for the audience. Did Thor work out? Read on for my opinion.