Reviews

Based in the 1980's, The Wolf on Wall Street follows Jordan Belfort, a starting up stock broker in New York. When the firm he is working at crashes on Black Friday, he is thrown to the curb with almost nothing to survive on. When he applies for another job, he discovers the excellence made off of penny-stocks and from there, it is a roller coaster ride of adrenalin rushed cocaine fun.

Now, understandably, there is controversy surrounding the film. Citing that is making awe-too good out of a horrible situation, that is emphasizing drug-usage and prostitution, and other sorts of illegal activity. Now, I must say in someway I agree with the controversy.

Back when Django Unchained came out, I defended the film, in a post Sandy Hook environment, the filmmakers had absolutely no percussing knowledge of the tragedy, so I stood behind the film. But this is a film that I can say that they know of the situation, and they are glorifying it.

So this is where things get touchy; are the emphasizing it to notify it, or to have fun with a bad situation. Now, you are more than welcome to see either which way. Personally, I'm kind of torn on which way the cookie crumbles. But, from the environment and tone that the film presented in it's nearly 3 hour run-time, I'd say both.

I did in fact see this film as a parody of it and I mean a classic parody. Like Mel Brooks parody. What they did was they took a devastating situation and shined a different light on it.

Now, with the cast involved, people would have come out of the theaters commenting they didn't seize the opportunity they had at hand, if it was looked upon from another, more serious view point. So, either which way, people are going to come out peeved off.

The film is narrated and stars Leonardo Dicaprio, in one of the best roles he has to date. What the filmmakers do is a Ferris Bueller type of narration, in which he would notify the camera and actually talk to it.

The film also has an amazing supporting cast, with Johnah Hill as Donnie Azoff, Jordan's right hand man through out most of the film, Kyle Chandler as an FBI agent on Jordan's tale through out the second and third act of the film, Rob Reiner in one the best comedic roles to this date, and a cameo of sorts from Matthew McConaughey. All of whom knock it straight of the park.

The slightest nit pick I have is the way they took the narration though. In some scenes he's notifying the camera and in others, he was just doing it in his head. Another thing I would like to bring up is how self invested it got the drugs and sexual innuendo. Soon enough, it developed to the point that I was used to it, so that's something to say.

But either which way, just focusing on it from a film viewers perspective, it's a 10/10.

In this found-footage, eco-horror flick, a Chesapeake Bay town settled in Maryland is celebrating the 4th of July, like any small-town America. But, something there's something fishy in the water, and it isn't just with the fish.

From the get-go, you can tell that the film is going to use found- footage to it's advantage, and as a found-footage hound, they use it for a sense of actual reality, examples: a news crew doing interviews, a family recording the festivities, police-car dashboard cams, and a doctor in the town recording the medical happenings.

Most horror movies do it to trick you, namely VHS and The Blair Witch Project (to name a few of which I enjoyed thoroughly), but personally, (Spoiler:) if a house comes to life and begins to lock its inhabitants inside, you have dropped all sense of reality. The Bay tells a story similar to The Happening, you environment finally says "screw it, were done with your sh*t humans, now it's our turn." When ever this happens, it's like playing an automated chess game with a computer, when your turn is done, it's done; and then the computer will basically take the moves you thought were smart, and show you why they actually weren't smart.

One problem with the film is that when the narrator introduces a new character she's goes on a schpeel like "This is (_X_), he/she runs this store. He/She went for a dip later that afternoon and died shortly after." So then there's no sense of danger, it's just speculation on how that character's going to die and when.

None the less, The Bay is something you can't miss out on, it's probably the best horror film since The Blair Witch, I give a 10/10.

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are this generation's equivalent to Monty Python, we all know it's nonsense, but it all works out because somehow it smoothly fits the story they are telling. Compared to all of the other "comedies" we are being force-fed by today's media, (e.i InAPPropriate Comedy and everything else Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg have oso thankfully offered us,) Wright and Pegg come out on top.

We have directors coming out nowadays saying they want to pay respect to the types of films they grew up with, a prime example being Quentin Tarantino. He rapid fires so many visual and dialectual references at once, film fans have to take a breather, while a normal theater going audience will sit there resting their faces in the palm of their hands, because they just don't understand what is happening. But, when Pegg and Wright come forth and say they want to pay homage to what they grew up on, it's also the stuff we grew up on or what we are still growing up on, stuff like Star Wars, Star Trek, or other classic films like Dawn of the Dead or Bad Boys 2. They let all of us have that moment of no-gravity happiness, and that's really hard to accomplish in today's media.

The World's End tells the tale of the child-at-heart, middle aged Gary King, on the anniversary of their infamous bar-crawl, he rounds up his old gang in hopes of tying up the one loose end from his childhood. The problem is, all of his friends have now grown up and have moved on since then, but somehow, he manages them to reattempt to the crawl with him, and what starts off as an innocent bar-crawl soon turns other- worldly.

The thing is, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright write these characters and situations so well that you could have just sat there watching them attempting this crawl without the other-worldly offerings shown at all, you still could've walked away happily, and it just amazes me to be saying this in our current age of film. The World's End is almost novelistic that way, a conflict will arise later, but you are so taken in by these characters and dialog it's only when the sh*t hits the fan you realize what you really bought your ticket for.

I'm going to buy The World's End on Blu-Ray!

This is what I like to call a "Fence Movie." If you love zombies and Tarantino-esque movie references, you'll like it. If you're not on the zombie side and you hate constant film references, this probably won't be your cup of tea.

Detention of the Dead is nothing new; teens who don't have an emotional click with each other (the nerd, the goth, the drug dealer, the athletic, and the dutsy blonde cheerleader,) end up in detention with each other. But just before The Simple Minds kick in their musical cult classic theme, zombies take siege on the school, and they have to work together to get out the school alive.

Again, nothing new. But I'm the kind of guy who respects a film when they give credit where credit is due, is that accomplished, yes.

The characters are set up in the classic horror movie ways, they don't stand out. You have one or two who manage to make themselves dimensional, but that's it.

Where the film succeeds is keeping your attention, but in that street magician way. While Tarantino is Houdini, Detention is the really sketchy looking one that keeps your attention on the hands, but if you look at it entirely, you see how it's done, and that's a big problem.

Some of the references flow, while some just don't.

But, I kept my eyes on what I liked, and it being a "Fence movie," you'll have to find your pros for yourself.

I give it a 7.5 ticket stub out of 10

Edgar Wright's smash hit self proclaimed "rom-zom-com," is set in England during the midst of the zombie outbreak. During which, fumbling Shaun and company decide to wait the horrors out at a local pub, and decide to let things sort themselves out over a nice cool pint.

Surprisingly, the film actually has a solid sense of motivation. Shaun is really just the wrong guy, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. While he is still horrified, he decides it is just what he needs to prove his worth to ex, Liz.

As a huge horror fan myself, I was laughing like crazy in the film. Everyone is fleshed out as dimensional characters, who you're actually kind of sad to see die, and trust me when I say, that people die hard in this movie.

As they come, Shaun Of The Dead is an amazing horror comedy. It's editing is fast and swift, the direction is a complement to the very foundation of film.

It's hard not to say; You should totally Buy It On Blu-Ray

I've been waiting all summer to see this season premiere, and I have to say, I was pretty pleased with what I saw!

Under The Dome takes place in Chester's Mill, Maine. A small middle America town, is shoveled into the spotlight of the country, when a dome-like surface engulfs the town, enclosing all residents from leaving, and all visitors from entering.

I began reading the book awhile ago, and I got about 3 to 4 character chapters in. I got far enough to know what characters to keep an eye out for, and to know the events in the books that may or may not show up in the show.

Now the episode itself; it's pretty solid! The acting came out actually a bit weak, and I thought it would be a bit more powerful in the TV spots I saw. But, then again, it is a TV mini-series.

A thing that I really enjoyed was how they organized such a convoluted book of events, into a linear narrative. In the book, it cuts from Point A in time to Point B, back to A. But, the series organizes it in a way that you can follow simply.

The concept is from Stephen King, based on his material, most of his adaptations can cut it real close to the edge, and some can give you a good dish. Where does this fall; well, I find it a bit too early to declare. But on the strength the episode offered, I would say that this show will grow strong.

In the end, I would have to say, Under The Dome is easily;

An 8.5 Film roll out of 10 Film Rolls.

In this genre explosion horror film, England is set in the midst of a zombie break out, following a group of activist's try to free specimen monkeys from lab experimentation, the Rage Virus is released. Transferable through saliva and blood, it turns it's victims in ravenous, hungry, feral beast. Now, 28 Days after the virus takes full scale effect, Jim, a bicycle delivery man, thrown into a coma after an accident, has missed the evac party, and is now stuck in the remains of England.

I had been wanting to see this all weekend, and I now regret watching the film oso early in the morning. A film I was so eager to see did little to my expectations.

Personally, I'm more of a Shaun of the Dead guy, but for the film's endurance, I managed to enjoy it. If you have friends in town, or you're at a party, this is a class act choice. But, I'm not a huge party goer, so it brings it down in some ways.

I found it actually dull in scenes it needed power, and powerful when a scene needed to be slow. But, it being an amateur film, I give it a pass. Another thing that didn't drive me too crazy about the film, was that it was all shot in digital, being a bit more a film fan myself, it brought it down in some ways.

But overall, it's a pretty decent film. But, not something I'll be watching again, too soon. If I do come around over it again, I'll at least watch Shaun of the Dead first, or after the film, because of this, I give 28 Days Later:

A 6.5 Ticket Stub out of 10 tickets.

This is arguably the worst film that Showtime currently has to offer, so far.

I don't know about you, but I was raised on the Spy Kid films, I loved the first one, it introduced me to a brand of films: the slapstick Three Stooge-Esq animation and action captured my attention as a small child, and this was even before I had a conception of what good acting was, truly, if you place a child in front of a monitor and put such a laughable film like this on, they'll think these are real people sadly. But, if you plop it front of them 10 years later, they're going to be laughing like a pack of hyenas, not at the jokes, but the story and acting.  Now that I am in my teens, I have a good conception of what a good movie is, and what a bad movie is, and I can say with pride; that this, Is the Worst Film 2011. 

A few weeks-ago, I put the original trilogy on, because I hadn't watched it in a while, and I can still say that the movies still holds up, even after the 10 year gap of not watching them, they still manage a smile to my face, not out of stupidly, but because of the jokes and characters, (not to mention that they are one of many childhood gemstones of mine.)  This morning I was surfing Showtime and saw this listed, with no mind to the universal panning by critics, I put it on, because I'm one of those guys who, if I start something, I gotta finish it, and oh, my. Am I regretting that decision.  There are so many problems with this movie, that I could actually list them. 

1) Jessica Alba, she is still acting 2) The kids in the movie are extremely annoying 3) The acting is just... terrible. 4) In the beginning of the movie, Jessica Alba's character is on mission during pregnancy. This is a recurring joke in the movie, in which while she fights crime, she has her toddler in a baby holster. 

The extremely slow paced film soon becomes an bother of the viewer,to the the point where I checked the clock, what felt like 50 minutes, was a mere 20. If a film goes that far down the cutting room floor, I am forced to give the film, a: 

Negative 10.5 Ticket Stub out 10 Tickets. 

A Note to Parents: if your kids ever misbehave, put this on, it Will scare them back into line.

I go way back watching these two actors, it's really hard to say who is funnier, Trainer comes off as more energetic, as McCurdy stands to be a more psychically, and more wittier!

The story is actually pretty relatable, a guy in his 20's on a video gaming universe is beat by a kid half his age, admit it, we've all been there! As a huge tournament begins to emerge for the game, they both plan to sabotage each other's status, at any means necessary.

I enjoyed the flick, I'm a big video game nerd, and I feel them! It's a fun time! Even if you're not even really a huge game nerd, you can laugh at it!

Young Huey, and Riley Freeman move from the Boondocks of Chicago, to the suburban city of Woodcrest, with Robert "Granddad" Freeman. As they attempt to assimilate with the new life, their life behind them often is reflected, shown in the repression of Huey, the oldest, and for Riley, the youngest, it is another adventure! From saving a gangster from a mob hit squad, to getting into a shoot out at a local mini-mart, they are still strangers in this new, slow world, and they have only their friends, their granddad, and the timely brother to brother understanding to survive.

I am in love with this show! Each episode has me laughing my head off! I mostly connect with Huey, as he reflects someone who doesn't fit in, likes his lonesome and inquiry in the news, like me!

The writing is top notch, and the voice acting is just fantastic!

I give the show a 10/10 film rolls!

Bruce Campbell (portraying himself) is now a washed up Hollywood actor. He loses hope in his movies, and his personal life. But, in the town of Gold Lick, an ancient deadite arises, looking for the surviving kin of the generation responsible for a mine cave-in. He is their only hope, but can he find hope in himself...?

I enjoyed the movie, it was a bit cheesy, though! But, I enjoyed it! Bruce Campbell is an amazing actor! I love him in Burn Notice, I can watch whatever he is in! And this was it!

As a low budget film, it has a bit of cheesy-ness! I can only say that the best part, was the Bruce Campbell element! He has redeemed himself in the past, and this is one to put him back on the map, as one Groovy, boomstick handling son of a gun!

I give the film a 7.5 ticket stub out of 10!

Arkin, an ex-con turned handyman, learns of his wife's newly earned debts to a loan shark. In order to clean her slate, he agrees to rob the house where he is working and steal a precious diamond. Whilst working the house, he learns a much greater threat is there...

I enjoyed this film, I will admit, I never really bought into the whole "Saw" set up, as I always wondered how an everyday man and/or woman could release themselves from a bear-trap, but this bought some reason to the table.

As a film fan, I'll chose Scream over Saw, but in the end, it's an enjoyable experience, 7 tickets out of 10.

In Kansas, somewhere, at a Carnival, you will meet the Great and Powerful Oz! A conman, staging as a magician, after a spat with a fellow carnie, he makes off in a hot-air-balloon. But after being caught, and almost killed, in a tornado, he lands in Oz. Where he is employed to kill an evil witch, to free all inhabitants of Oz.

I enjoyed the film, I am a big Sam Raimi fan, I've seen almost all of his films, all of which I've been pleased with, and trust me when I say, I enjoyed this!

James Franco and all supporting, or main cast were born for their roles! Even Bruce Campbell, who cameos as a gatekeeper. I was rather disappointed with myself for not noticing the Oldsmobile, but I shouldn't take that off the experience.

I give the film a 10 out of 10 ticket stub.

Wes Craven's cult classic horror film follows in the aftermath of two students grizzly murders. As the town mourns over their deaths, a group of high school seniors mourn in their own way, by relating them to the grandfather horror films of the past. Soon they become targets of the killer, and they must somehow survive the town if they wish to see a high school diploma, with no blood on it.

This is the calling card to all film-buffs, all Easter eggs scattered through out the film are homages to it's origins, while at the same time maintaining it's own special place, for all film fan's hearts.

Out of 10 movie tickets, it's a 9.5. The motive was so simple, and so well understood.

It's a funny movie, what can I say? The story concerns to two stoner buddies, Jessie and Chester. After a night of smoking, they wake up the next day to see that their car has disappeared, and will stop at nothing to get it back.

This is a funny movie, it's well written, and the two fronts, Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott, are two very talented guys!

Jennifer Garner's in it, and she was okay. Nothing Oscar worthy, but she was good!

It's a fun party movie, that turned into a fun mystery, into a cool sc-fy flick, but what case of a stolen car doesn't nowadays?

I rate the film an 8.5 ticket stub out of ten!

Like the summary said! Comic Book Men is set in Kevin Smith's trade and barter store based in New Jersey, known as Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, often shortened to just The Stash. Smith and friends operate the store, solely founded over film and comic book propaganda.

I rather enjoy the show, I am an avid movie and TV fan, and I plan to start reading comic books, sometime later this year. I enjoy trade and barter, it is a subject I have fond interest in it, as you never know what you will see. I don't get the comic book references, but I try, and that's what counts.

Let me put it this way, did you grow up on TV, movies, and comic books? Merry Christmas!

The fact that they do this unscripted is surprising, because trust me when I say that this show is hilarious!

I give the show 8 film rolls.