Horrible Bosses

Looking for a funny movie this summer? Hangover II didn't quite fill you up? Horrible Bosses will more than fulfill your laughter quota. With a great cast featuring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston and Jamie Fox, Horrible Bosses is hilarious.

If you don't know the premise well where have you been? It's been advertised to death. But I'll explain anyhow. Three friends are miserable in their jobs as they have terrible bosses. One has a jerk for a boss who leads him on into a promotion then takes the promotion for himself and also sort of blackmails him into never being able to leave and get another job. Another has an incompetent boss who just sleeps with strippers and does blow all day. And lastly, one has a boss who vows to either sleep with him or if not tell his fiancée they did anyway, effectively ruining his relationship. So they realize their lives would be better if their bosses were dead. So then they go off on a quest to kill their bosses.

Of course this movie is a comedy so all sorts of things go wrong and it is these mishaps that make this movie hilarious. From a scene where they break into a house and accidently spill a whole block of cocaine and get high while trying to clean it up, to how Charlie Day's character mistakes the men for men ad listings on craigslist to find a hitman and ends up finding a guy who does "wetwork" and if you don't know what that is...look it up.

Horrible Bosses is truly a comedy and I think it'll always be listed among the greats as Hangover and such.

B+

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Hurt Locker

Honestly I'm pretty torn on this movie. On the one hand, I watched it as it won tons of awards. But then for me... Guess I didn't get it.

Well, not that I didn't get it. I got it, not a hard movie to "get", just I don't see the hype. If you don't know what this movie is about, to put it simply it's about a three man bomb technician group as they go about their daily job. Now, to me I liked the movie. The acting was great, the visuals were spectacular, and the filming was spot on.

What I thought was bad about the movie was the overall story and how it was presented. I guess they were going for pseudo realism here as to me the movie was comprised of long drawn out sequences of disarming bombs. Very suspenseful, yes. Boring fast? Yes. The movie was way too long and it was due to these long scenes were nothing is going on.

The movie also didn't really have any real...emotional impact on me. I know they tried to throw some in there with the body bomb, and the fact he has a son, and then the last whole scene. But they were sporadic, and then they'd clash so hard with the next scene that they were easily forgettable. And the whole last scene pretty much reverses any emotional reaction you might have had and wasn't as hard hitting as I think they thought it would be.

Overall, it's an ok movie. Some may like it way more than I did. To be fair it's a great movie visual, acting and all. But where it matters to me, the meat, Hurt Locker was hurting.

6/10

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Movie Review: Super 8

One of the Summer's most mysterious movies. I went in with a little knowledge from trailers but all I really knew (or assumed) was some type of alien or secret government project wrecks havoc on a small town. And to be honest, I was pretty much spot on. One of the biggest hyped movies wasn't all that mysterious as it seemed to try to be.

Not saying the movie was bad. It was actually quite good, if you like the type of movie, which fortunately I do. But it was pretty cut and dry. Mysterious thing escapes from train, weird stuff happens in town, air force comes, battle, the end. The movie also suffered from what I am calling "too much going on syndrome". This group of kids literally did everything, to the point where it wasn't that realistic. They were there at the train crash, they escaped from the refugee camp, they got attacked by the alien, they were in the war zone, they found the hideout of the alien, they escaped from that. Totally unrealistic that a group of inept thirteen year olds can do what a whole government has been trying to do for forty years.

Another problem arises from having the majority of the main cast being younger folk...their acting. Now it wasn't terrible, it was actually quite good for their age groups, but their dialogue... Felt like one of those cheesy Disney made for TV movies that comes out once a month at times, and their relationships with one another felt the same way.

But, once again. this isn't that bad a movie even for all my criticisms. The action and overall story with the alien was well done, and while there was way too much going on in the movie, they tied it in quite well. Overall, if you like action movies with supernatural or alien things, you'll like this one easily.

7.5 out of 10

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Requiem For A Dream

Getting back into the game! I was reading some articles when I stumbled across a list of best indie films, I couldn't help myself and began to watch them all, or at least vowed to watch them all. Requiem For A Dream is one of them.

Now this movie, I can see why it was on the list. It was a great premise, very good cinematography and the acting was surprisingly good. However, I still thought it fell pretty flat. But more on that later. The story follows four interconnected people and eventually their toils and troubles with the various drugs they get hooked on. The movie does a great job of showcasing the effects of these drugs on their own bodies but as well as their social lives and structure. It is a great glimpse into those times and the lives of drug addicts. They go from the stage of, "Oh, I'm just doing this to get some money so we can be happy" to "Oh, man I have to prostitute myself to get some dope".

Drugs Are Bad Guyz

It is actually in this aspect that I think the movie fell flat. While it is true they showcased these quite well, it still felt to me like a typically "Drugs are bad" motif. Once they layed out the relationships between the characters, they only rarely went to develop them more which is what I'd have liked to see. Instead they just continued to show shocking image after shocking image of drug use, which honestly in todays world with today's media. Isn't too shocking. It was almost as if this movie could be a high school drug education required movie to watch.

But overall it is still a pretty good movie to watch. Like I said before, great filming style and I always appreciate character interconnectedness.

6.5/10

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I'm Back!

If you recognize some of the posts...well it's because today I exported and then imported my old and first blog MushReviews to this new blogger account. Why? Well, let's just say Google screwed the pooch on this one. I first tried to buy a domain through their services thinking it'd be easier. Well, long story short the transaction never went through (three different times) yet they still switched my blogger url, which was leading to a 404 page. To make matters worse, I couldn't switch back to normal viewing due to a blogger glich of which their help forum provided the opposite of help. I then tried to buy a domain directly from GoDaddy but the blogger error/glitch kept me from applying any settings there.

So in a last ditch effort to somewhat continue this blog as I love movies and loved MushReviews, I exported the blogger code, made MovieMush (similar name at least) and then imported the code. Now I know the layout is crappy for now, but I'll work on that and hopefully get it to look more professional like my other blog FlashMush and get it looking better than MushReviews ever was. Huge downside is I lost my 600+ follower viewbase and I just hope that I can reclaim just a fraction of that...

It's disheartening, but I'm back!

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Year One

Yes...This movie. I've had it for a while and recently a spout of boredom compelled me to watch it mainly out of curiosity and well... I do like Cera. And... it wasn't as bad as I heard. I mean sure..it wasn't great but I guess for me Micheal Cera saved it.

Jack Black, per usual, I hated in this movie. He is obnoxious, stupidly funny (not good), and just generally annoying. That right there really tarnished the movie. Luckily, there were other parts that raised my opinion.

Mainly Cera's character. I know he plays the same role, blah blah blah. But he does it well and I thought it was completely funny in this film, especially we needed that opposite to Black's character to stop this film from becoming all penis jokes and the sort. I also actually kind of liked the story line. Or at least the satire of it with all the biblical references. I thought that was decently clever and kind of fresh. Although it was weird how they started out as cavemen and ended up seemingly thousands of years from cavemen times to biblical times but eh..it's a movie. I also really liked the love interests going on, even Black's was ok. Also, the star studded cast was really surprising but I liked it. Olivia Wilde especially.

6 out of 10

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The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects, eh? If you don't know about this movie...for the time being just think of it as your typical crime movie. Group of guys do various jobs to get money/drugs. You know the type. In detail the movie is about five guys who get together to do some jobs, their last one turns wrong and they all die except for one. So most of the movie is him in the interrogation room and then flash backs to what he's saying.

Nothing wrong with that type of movie, I actually really like crime movies so of course I did like this movie. However, I am glad to say this is one movie in it's niche that breaks free and actually blew me away. Yep, huge twists come at the end and they way it's all presented is very genius. This is a movie that you will be thinking about once it's over. Replaying scenes and trying to figure out what happened. And to me, that's a sign of a pretty good movie. When it can get me to sit down for a moment and think about what just transpired.

Overall, I'd say this is a great movie, especially for those who like the genre it's in but even for those who want some mystery and action.

8 out of 10

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Clerks II

First off I want to take some time to clear up something with my blog that's been happening lately. I bought a custom domain and tried setting it up, however, it must take 3 days or so (supposedly) to take full effect as my blog has been in transition mode for a few days. What this means is basically for now you can't really comment on my posts. I mean you can try and see if it's working but for now it isn't. But you can read my reviews fine and follow me if you incline. Now on to the review.

I decided to review Clerks II in sort of a compare/contrast to the first one, as they took completely different directions. Clerks II followed a more structured comedy movie path. Had a generic storyline, funny characters, etc. Cut and dry, very simple where as Clerks was more of a slice of life comedic film. What this means for Clerks II is...well for me this approach didn't work at all. I mean sure it was funny but it was not always a good type of funny and in essence it was kind of bland in that aspect.

Basically I feel Clerks and Clerks II are almost completely different movie ideologies. Clerks did the black and white, slice of life, somewhat witty movie, while Clerks II fell for the generic cesspool of comedies.

All in all I felt this was a mediocre movie, but a decent sequel for people who may have liked Clerks. I, however, didn't really like Clerks so that may be an influence on my opinion.

5.5 out of 10

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Clerks

Clerks, another cult classic film, this time a comedy. If you don't know about this movie...well you should but basically it's the toils and turmoils of two clerks working in a gas station convenience store and a video store.

Right off the bat I did have a few problems with this movie. For one, I'm not sure why they opted to film in black and white. Its not like the technology wasn't available at the time and it didn't add anything. If anything you'd think it would be harmful. Secondly, the acting was pretty sub par. I afterwards read that they were on a low budget so they just used their friends which would explain it partly, but lot of the scenes including some featuring the two main actors, were pretty terrible and I almost laughed at them in some cases. The last major flaw I had in this film was the predictability of some of the scenes, which you may not think is an issue and that's because most movies, especially modern ones today, seem to get it right and aren't that predictable. But this one... Without even watching it once I could almost guess exactly what would happen down to the minuscule scale. Not a good thing when they then try and bring up these huge "hilarious" twists at the end which I already guessed 30 minutes ago.

You may be thinking now...well what did you like? Well... I did appreciate some of the filming style aspects. The fact that it wasn't that linear, lots of random events transpiring as well as random interjections that would pop in. Also like how it did represent spot on the problems of a convenience store clerk. It didn't glamorize them or make them out to be something they aren't. Very truthful in that aspect. And it is because of that which is why I can believe how this movie achieved "cult film" status.

But for me...not the best movie.

6 out of 10

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Thor

Just got back from watching this new blockbuster so hopefully a few of you guys will be interested. In all honesty I was kind of reluctant going into Thor. I'm not a huge fan of all the superhero movies coming out but I do like the idea of the combined Avengers one that Marvel seems to be working towards and after watching both Iron Mans...well, guess I should give the whole universe a shot. Although Natalie Portman helped my decision as well.

So while I didn't go in with the openest of minds, I will say I did enjoy it. The action scenes were amazing as I knew they would be, combine that with the spectacular visuals of the other realms and this movie was very visually appealing (and this is without Portman mind you) so that alone was great. Not a movie you'd fall asleep in. I also really liked, again, the subtle notions towards the Avengers grand plot. Whether it was referring back to some scenes from Iron Man or even slight comments about the Hulk and others, very nice touch I always appreciate in movies. 

I guess my only down points to the movie would be the slowness of progression at some points. Mainly at the beginning but usually all the scenes when they were in the other world. It looked amazing..but not much going on there which kind of bored me. Another issue was some of the comedic relief...just didn't seem to bode well in some circumstances.

Overall a great continuation of the Avengers series and great Superhero movie as well.

7 out of 10 

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Bored to Death

Another HBO television series review for today. Bored to Death is probably my favorite of the HBO series I've seen so far. Although that may have something to do with the cast. I love Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galifianakis and they play hilarious roles in this show.

The premise of the show is that Jason's character is a writer who breaks up with his girlfriend and basically to get over his grief and also to help him come up with another book he moonlights as a private detective. This is where things get hilarious. His cases range from somewhat series as a women thinking her husband is cheating, to the downright ridiculous such as the stolen skateboard episode. What makes them even funnier is the situations he gets himself in, whether it be trying to get with a prostitute while his friends are smoking pot in the getaway car or how he ends up in a "dungeon". I find myself rolling in laughter every episode.

8 out of 10

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Portal 2 Movie Poster

Now how many of you wish this was true? I know I do! It'd be a pretty awesome storyline honestly and with the portals could have some sweat effects and be pretty exciting. Plus, cast the right beauty and have some stellar voice actors, aka make this star studded and you know all the fan boys would rush in.. Although I guess that was the premise of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. But nonetheless, I think it could be a big seller.

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Eastbound and Down

Another Television series review, Eastbound and Down is a HBO series my friend today told me about and showed me. I decided to write a review on it for my blog and I've watched half the first season so far, but I have a pretty good idea of it through that.

Eastbound and Down stars Danny McBride, who I only really knew from trailers and Pineapple Express. Of which...I wasn't too fond of him. Although in hindsight I think it was more his character and personality of which I now realize he was a pretty good actor in the movie and his characters are..unique at least. This show follows McBride's character as a foul mouthed, washed up major league baseball pitcher who has moved back in with his brother in his old home town. His character is essentially the typical redneck. Drinks beer 24/7, curses nonstop and his appearance. But that's honestly what makes this show so funny. His ridiculous mannerisms and backwards way of doing...well everything turns this show into a hilarity or at the very least a train wreck of a story you just can't turn away from. But overall Eastbound and Down is pretty funny if you're into the whole vulgarity and shock aspect that was rampant in Talladega Nights so if you find this online or have HBO and see it's coming on, I say give it a shot.

6.5 out of 10

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Pulp Fiction

Get ready to scream hearsay. Yesterday was the first time I saw Pulp Fiction. I know...shocking. But hey, anytime is the right time to see a cult classic isn't it? And might as well review it!

First off I will say I throughly enjoyed this movie. Pulp Fiction was great at the kind of movie style I like. Multiple story lines, nonlinear plot line, interconnectedness with one another, violence, and loads of pop culture references with witty banter. Add the fact that I am a big fan of Tarantino and of course this movie was a hit with me. I must say I don't know why I haven't seen this movie before... I think the length was one aspect but even then I am disappointed in myself. 

My only real problem with the movie is more of a personal issue and I don't even know why I'm bringing it up really as it worked well in the end. But the nonlinear plot line plus the nature of the different plots for a while really confused me as it just seemed to be a bunch of loosely related almost boring story lines. Of course things pick up quick and change back and forth which then diminishes this tiny complaint a little but I'll stick with it. A few parts were slow.

Nonetheless, this is a cult classic movie that totally deserves the attention.

9.5 out of 10

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Insidious

Not sure what this movie is? Well it's a fairly new movie, talked up to be very scary, and...it actually lived up to expectations. Insidious has got to be one of the most original movies, of this genre, that I've seen in a while, also a pretty scary one to boot.

Briefly, the plot is of a family who moves into a new house, one of their son succumbs to a "coma" and then weird ghosts appear. Now I know I said this movie was original and that plot line doesn't some so...original. But, in order to preserve suspense for those of you who go out to see it I won't reveal the end twists which bring on the uniqueness. I will say that there is more that meets the eye and should give this a chance if you find yourself watching it and thinking it's another stale horror flick.

Scariness factor, I did find myself a little jumpy a few times throughout the movie, which is very good considering I don't usually scare that easily. Also the whole mood of the movie was pretty creepy, through the score, the one song played over and over, little things that you may catch out of the corner of your eye, etc.

Insidious was advertised as one of the scariest movies of this year and... I think it's right. 

7.5 out of 10

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BLARGHAAAHRGARG - A Short Film

BLARGHAAAHRGARG, yes, that's the name of this short film. Making it hard to find unless you know exactly how to spell this monster of a name. Which speaking of monsters, that's what this film is about! It's a short film based off of a labortory accident in which a giant (semi giant I guess) "snot" monster attacks a guy and his grandmother.

Now, the name may scream skeptical to you but it actually was decent. The story line and camera angles were spot on, plus all the foresight to the actual event. It showed that the directors payed attention the small things and put some thought into it which I really like in a film. My only issues for it and it's not so much there fault as they did the best they could, was the actual effects. The monster and all his activities screamed cheesy effects at you but you do learn to overlook those as hey it's not supposed to be blockbuster quality. Overall very entertaining short film.

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Parks and Recreation

Decided to talk about one of my new favorite shows for today. Parks and Recreation I feel is kind of a sleeper hit. It's on it's 3rd season already but just recently has really been hitting it big in terms of viewers and such. 

Parks and Recreation is sort of filmed the same way as The Office and in many ways they are similar. But you have a camera crew filming these day to day operations of the characters and they give one on one interviews. However, they don't ever actually show the camera people like they do sometimes in The Office. So if you liked that filming style from The Office, this is a logical new show for you to watch alongside. Conveniently they are aired after one another.

In case you don't know, Parks and Recreation follows the Parks department of a small town in Indiana's government. The office is full of characters from crazy Leslie Knope, meat loving Ron Swanson, and weirdly metrosexual Tom Haverford. The show is full of these characters and they interact in such funny ways. I will say the humor isn't for everyone as, again, it's sort of in The Office style with improv in places and such. But if you like the Office definitely give Parks your attention, you won't be sorry.

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Late Bloomer - Sundance Festival Short Film

This will be my first post/review of a short film, especially one released at Sundance Festival. I urge you all to watch this, it is only 13 minutes long and conveniently uploaded to Youtube.

Late Bloomer is a genius skit. It is based off of an H.P. Lovecraft tale, also called "Late Bloomer" as it follows a 7th grade class in the midst of their sex-ed lectures. What results is very true, but presented in a heinous dark manner. One student is narrating what he is seeing; which just so happens to be monsters out of various genitalia, as well as what he describes as a ritual with his teacher at the helm. I really liked the direction it took where the narration used the same dark diction that H.P. Lovecraft's tales usually take, but how they were coming from a young boy. Gave it a more sinister appeal.

So if you have a few free minutes, I urge you to give this a watch. You'll never look at sex ed in the same way, I'll guarantee it. 

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Summer Movie Trailer Bash!

For today's post I'm going to post a few trailers for movies coming out this summer and my comments on them.

First up; Everything Must Go

This movie seems golden. Features Will Ferrell as a man who loses everything. His job and his wife. Craziness ensues as he lives on his front lawn and eventually seems to come to terms with himself. 

Release Date: May 13th

Secondly; Bridesmaid

Not too sure about this one... On one hand it's a Judd Apatow movie, that right there is almost enough reason to see it. Also it features some hidden surprises (Erin from The Office mainly). Overall from the trailer...my impression is a not as funny or crazy Hangover movie. But eh... we'll see how it turns out.

Release Date:  May 13th

Lastly for now; Our Idiot Brother

This one features a cast of great faces. Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel and Rashida Jones to name a few. Based off of Paul Rudd in general is enough for me though. Based on the trailer it seems Rudd's character is busted for pot and forced to live back with his family. Seems hilarious as tensions clash with all his family members. 

Release Date: August 26th 

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Happythankyoumoreplease

Watched this movie for one reason really. Josh Radnor. If you don't recognize the name...well he's not that big but he's the star of the hit show How I Met Your Mother, one of my personal favorites. So even though based on the trailer this movie looked like a typical chick flick I gave it a shot for him.

The movie kind of went better than expected. I expected, again, a typical chick flick but instead I got...well not sure exactly. Essentially the plot of the movie is three different story lines. My favorite was the one with Radnor as he finds a kid lost on the subway and takes him in. Very touching, the funniest of the three and most relatable. The others focused on a cancer patient who finds unlikely love, and a couple facing a tough job decision with the onset of a baby.

I will admit this movie started out super slow with the only redeeming quality being Radnor and the cute kid he found...but luckily the other story lines soon picked up and became fascinating as well and brought more actual realism to this movie which lots of movies unfortunately lack. One of the best things personally to me about this movie was the setting. Downtown New York. I have always wanted to live in a downtown area whether it be New York or Chicago, love the scene and this movie brought that lust back and in high fever.

So anyway, if you like indie chick flicks to watch with your girl, I say give this a shot. If you like Josh Radnor...give it a shot. 

6.5 out of 10

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30 Minutes or Less

Another trailer for you guys, this time a comedy. 30 Minutes or Less features two of my favorite actors, Jesse Eisenburg (of Social Network) and Aziz Ansari (of Parks and Recreation). It is a comedy centering around a pizza boy who while delivering pizza gets captured and a bomb is strapped to his chest, they then force him to rob a bank or else he'll explode. While this is a comedy it is loosely based off of a real life story where a pizza man was forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped to his neck. Anyways, this looks hilarious and can't wait for it's release in August.

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Stakeland

What do you guys think of this trailer? I think it looks pretty good, lots of action, albeit typical. Although it does seem to go in a new direction as I saw some "zombies" with crosses on them so it may cross into another supernatural dimension. But I can't quite shake the Zombieland image out of my mind, especially since the name is Stakeland... Plus the character dynamics. Kid paired with an elder, meet girls, etc. But hey, I loved Zombieland so maybe Zombieland without humor won't be so bad. Either way I'll be in line to see this.

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Harper's Island

Here today to talk about a little known show that aired a few years ago in 2009 on CBS. I remember it vividly as I thought the idea was a fresh spin on the usual staleness of television. Harper's Island was a Summer long mini show that was only going to be one season. The hook was it was a murder mystery style show in which one character died each week and I believe they had online betting matches and such for people to place bets on who the killer was and who would die each week.

Very unique in terms of television if you ask me, and I thought the overall show was great. The storyline was a couple who used to vacation and had family on this island were going to have their wedding on the island. So they got all their friends and family here. Of course, things go wrong and people start mysteriously disappearing and eventually they find out the people are dying and it turns into a surprisingly scary thriller. As the characters eventually know they are being hunted one by one and since the island is in off season, the killer is most likely one of them. The show continues to throw big curve balls at you to mix things up, such as eluding to the fact that a famous serial killer from the island thought to be dead might be back, and other such things that really get your mind spinning.

Harper's Island was a great show though under appreciated at the time. I strongly encourage if you see the DVD for it in some store to pick it up. I doubt it'll be expensive and it'll be more than worth it.

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Mean Creek

Metacritic and Rottentomatoes both had very high scores for this movie and after being suggested it I decided to give it a shot. It starts off with a scene starring Josh Peck, aka Josh from Drake and Josh. Honestly, I almost stopped it there... Him? In a serious sounding role? This could not end well... Or could it?

Luckily it did. For those who haven't heard of this movie it revolves around a bully (Josh Peck) and his "victim", Sam. Sam wants to get back at him and enlists his brother and his brothers friends. They devise a prank that involves getting the bully, George, onto the river, daring him to strip naked, leaving him and making him run home naked. Of course as you can see by the poster...things turn dreary.

This movie was honestly one of the hardest movies to watch I feel. So excruciating to watch as you know what they are planning to do, humiliate this bully. At first you feel bad for Sam as he got beat up, but then you get to know George and see that he actually just wants to be friends with them all and he has a learning disability and such. So watching them plot, scheme, and lie to his face knowing that he eventually is going to be hurt... so painful to watch. It gets even more painful when the climax occurs and the "accident" happens.

The rest of the movie after the climax is just as painful to watch and just as emotionally draining. It follows the same characters, sans George, as they have to make huge decisions in their life and face the consequences. What makes this movie so good is the fact that as you are watching it you can easily put yourself into their positions and that turns this movie into a whole new perspective. You feel their distress, their sadness, their anger, their motives. You are Sam, you are George, you are every single one of those characters at once and feel all what they are going through. This movie will leave you in shambles.

9 out of 10 

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Frailty

I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I was suggested this movie and decided to watch it. When I was suggested it I looked it up and discovered it was a thriller about a serial killer, I'm game! One of my favorite genres so I of course gave it a shot.

From the start I was a little skeptical. The first few scenes the acting was pretty spotty actually and it made me heavily doubt this movie. However, then the meat of the movie started to roll in and I could see the shining spots. This movie excelled, and I mean excelled, when it came to plot twists and overall story line.

The basic storyline for those who don't know this movie already follows a man who comes into the FBI and says he knows the identity of a serial killer. He then goes on to explain the story of how when he was young, his father saw a vision from God who told him to destroy "demons" and then went on to capture these demons and kill them in front of them and have them partake. Sounds simple enough but the way it was shown on camera and story wise was phenomenal. They did it so well I felt at times like I completely understood where the dad was coming from and didn't feel the typical hatred for him. So that was a major change in a movie personality for me. Here is this guy who they are showing to be completely rational at first, who goes "crazy" but then make you doubt that he's crazy at all and is actually justified!

Then the movie goes even further and introduces you two huge twists at the end which I won't spoil but I will say that you really need to see this movie. I feel it changed my perception on the whole aspect of serial killing. Not that I find it justifiable now but the fact that the movie portrayed them having in their mind, completely rational reasons and didn't even think they were killing people. Huge mind benders in this movie, don't let the poor acting scare you off.

8.7 out of 10 

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How I Met Your Mother

It was only a matter of time before I blogged about this show. For those who know me off the web they will tell you that this is my all time favorite show. At least of the sit-com variety.

I'm sure most of you know at least the general premise of this show, as the title pretty much sums it up. It's about the main character, Ted, explaining to his kids in the future how he met their mom. So the whole show is essentially flash backs tied together of Ted and the gang's misc. adventures. It goes through all of Ted's major relationships, as well as problems and such of the other characters as well. A common complaint I hear about this show is the fact that "When are they going to show the mother!?" People are seeming to get frustrated with the mysterious figure. I don't know why though as that's the whole point of the show and as long as the episodes are well crafted and funny (which they are) the mother could come whenever. Of course the show is slowly revealing facts about her throughout the seasons so they tug you along with that.

Why do I love this show so much you may ask? Well, like I mentioned above. This show is one of the most well crafted television shows out there. The episodes are so interconnected that they refer even to future episodes in the past. Constant references to the past are being made and it really feels like you have a connection to the characters. The jokes are also great and come in a variety. You have the dirty sex jokes made by the sleaze ball Barney and then intelligent and witty jokes form the other cast. I find myself constantly laughing.

So if you don't already watch this show you really need to start!

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Black Swan

While I saw this in theaters when it first came out, I figure I'll stick to my semi-recent trend of reviewing the Academy Award nominated movies of which I thought Black Swan was phenomenal.

I'm sure you know the overall plot for this movie but in case not I'll give a brief rundown. A ballerina is chosen to play the parts of the White Swan and then the Black Swan in play put on by her dancing troupe. The problems come when she starts to imagine that the new girl is trying to take her spot. What follows is actually a pretty dark thriller, not what some people were expecting at all I feel.

First off I'll complement the acting. Natalie Portman deserved the Best Actress award and she rightly won it. To be able to dance like that period but also act is no easy task. The supporting actors and actresses were just as good as well.

While I loved the idea of the story and believe they did a great job with it and the direction they took, and I loved the acting. I do have some problem with the movie. Mainly the pace that it went at. I mean I know it was a movie about ballerinas but I don't think I was expecting a large, and I mean large, portion of the movie to just be about the dancing and the culture around it. So that made the movie progress really slow for me, which also made the thrilling moments (her acts of craziness) sporadic throughout the movie but that may work for the movie as they were genuinely scary (or at least surprising), so in that way I guess the pace worked for the effect of the movie but not this viewer. I still say you should go see it though, great movie.

4 out of 5

*Black Swan made the top 2011 list on http://www.sundaychurchservice.org/2011/01/films-to-look-out-for-in-2011.html  *

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Surface

 First off I know...bad quality picture but it's honestly the only one I could find. Secondly, I figured I'd talk about a television show today since I did say I'd talk more about those instead of just movies.                 

I sort of doubt you guys will know about Surface as it was only on for one season and then was canceled... If I could un-cancel one show it would be this one. I thought it had so much potential and it was so unique for it's time. Basically the plot of Surface was that there were these deep sea creatures that were now being awakened some how and were causing all sorts of global environmental issues and other issues. From, misplacing submarines thousands of miles off course, to increasing bad weather to even eating helicopters and other ships. The show then follows various people. You have a kid who found an egg of one of the creatures and is raising it and then becomes infused with it himself and he starts to become one of them, a man who's brother was eaten by one who vows to get revenge and to know what's happening, and a scientist who saw their breeding grounds in a submarine and wants to study them. The show then spirals into many directions at once; government censorship, threat of natural disaster, and of course the mutating kid.                                 

All I can say is, this was a great show that was canceled unfairly and if you see this online somewhere on in a store, I think it's worth it.                                                                                                                              

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127 Hours

I have been wanting to see this movie for a while, it had an interesting premise and it starred James Franco. Who could resist? I especially couldn't resist after the praise it got and the nominations at the Academy Awards.

So I finally had some spare time to watch it with my girl. I'll say straight out that I did enjoy it, a lot. But..it still had some problems to me. Well actually only one minor problem. I found the story to progress kind of slowly, I mean I know that the whole movie essentially is him stuck under a rock so not much can go on but hey the movie Buried is sort of the same thing and they kept the pace going high strung throughout. But I guess I can forgive the slow pace as they used their time in other ways. You really feel for the guy as he evaluates what he has on him and how he tries to get out and eventually does. So in that sense you really get the feel that you are him, trying everything in your mind to get out and having to conserve food and water as well.

Like I said, minor problem. But to me what made this movie so great was the cinematography. They did an awesome job with it. From the scenes were he is dreaming up scenarios, to where he is hallucinating things, to how they set up a camera in his camalbak and you could see the water flow, to how they did three panels to show different scenes and dreams at once. This was all great and really gave a scale for the movie and further exemplified what was going through his mind.

Great movie, must see!

4.5 out of 5 

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Apollo 18 Trailer

I'm on the executive board of the movie club at my school and yesterday was our trailer party where we sit around, eat junk food, and watch movie trailers and pick which ones we want to see next semester.

Apollo 18 really stood out to me as a movie that has some real potential. The trailer shows what is supposed to be "real" footage form a top secret Apollo 18 mission, another manned mission to the Moon. There, as usual, something goes terribly wrong and you know the rest. What makes this stand out though is not only the style of footage which I am totally a fan of, but also the storyline is pretty unique. Space movies, specifically those which chronicle manned mission to the moon (and are supposed to be "realistic") are not all that common. So having one that is set up like that but then throw in a scary, alien, mystery twist and I think that's a gold mine.

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