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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