Reviews

The future isn't talked about enough. We need to be able to predict where we are going as a society so we can be ready for what's going to happen. Ray Kurzweil is a futurist. He spends all day every day thinking about the future. He is a genius inventor and he even invents things that we don't have the technology to make yet. If there's someone who can predict the future of technology, this is the guy. If you read his book, The Singularity is Near, you know exactly what "The Singularity" is and what is means for the human race. To put it in one sentence, it's the point where technology advances so exponentially fast that we can't even comprehend the growth. Ray explains that technology is advancing exponentially, and in a few decades, it will be advancing too fast for our own brains to comprehend. In order to keep up, we must merge with machines to enhance our intelligence and become immortal, super-intelligent, god-like cyborgs that will mostly spend time in full submersion virtual reality doing whatever our imaginations can imagine. The book explains everything that this documentary doesn't and if this doc interests you then I highly recommend the read. It's really hopeful stuff and people need to realize how important technology is going to become. We use our cellphones so much that they become a part of us. Sooner or later they will be a part of us. This is a very good summary to a very interesting subject. If you're very religious you may not like it due to its atheist theme, but people with an open mind will be very intrigued.

Memento isn't like any movie you've ever seen. It's about a man who has a brain disorder where he can only remember things for about 4 minutes. He remembers who he is and he knows he has the disorder, and he remembers everything up until the attack. The movie starts with the end, and works its way back 4 minutes at a time until you know exactly why everything happened. You see the effect, and then you see the cause. It's not as complicated as it sounds and it really flows together nice so even the lesser intelligent watchers can follow the plot. Guy Pearce does an amazing job and he has the perfect voice for a fast talking, intelligent man who has to get things done fast so he doesn't forget. It's Christopher Nolan's first masterpiece and it wont be his last. It's every bit as good as Inception or The Dark Knight if not better. Every film buff should see this. It's an original work of art.

There are very few directors that were as specific and attentive to detail as Stanley Kubrick. Every single scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey is like a work of cinematic art. I can imagine Kubrick filming each scene a hundred times until it's exactly the way he imagined it. This is what made him such a legendary director and set him apart from everyone else.

I first watched this film about 10 years ago and I couldn't believe the special effects. I can't imagine what people thought of it when it first came out. I'm sure a lot of people didn't know what to think about it at first. The first third of the movie has no dialogue and the last third is basically an acid trip sequence with no dialogue as well. It's very different than anything you've seen but if you have the right mind set, it will blow your mind.

The acting is very good, but the movie relies heavily on everything else. The plot is not explained very well but the open ended questions are what makes it so mysterious and mind boggling. You see what happens and your questions aren't fully answered but your imagination fills in the blanks and in my opinion that's the best way to do it.

It starts out at the dawn of man, when we were all just ape-like creatures waiting to evolve. The group of apes (let's call them) that we see are suddenly looking upon a giant, rectangle monolith that appeared out of nowhere. When the apes touch the monolith their minds are opened up to a new stage in evolution, the use of tools. After this long and dialogue-free part of the movie, it jumps forward to the year 2001 in a split second. The world has discovered yet another monolith except this one is on the surface of the moon. I don't want to get into too much detail but basically they find out that it's origin is one of Jupiter's moons. Earth then decides to send its best spaceship off on a mission to see exactly where the monolith came from. The spaceship is equipped with the best astronauts, and the most advanced computer ever built, HAL 9000. We are then sent on the wild ride to Jupiter and a lot happens on the way that you don't expect.

Basically, 2001 is a longer than average movie and has a lot of quiet parts with only the sound of breathing or apes grunting. If you have the patience to sit back and appreciate a cinematic piece of art, then this is the movie for you. If your attention span is tiny and you don't like space movies, I suggest skipping this one. If you happen to take acid or any visual enhancing drugs, this movie will be especially satisfying, but drugs or not, it's a masterpiece of film.

Most people spend the whole day in their house, in their office building, and in their car. We rarely look outside to see how beautiful the world really is. Planet Earth explores all the amazing things in nature that we don't have time to see for ourselves. It takes you on a journey from deep in the ocean, to the top of mountains. You see things you couldn't have imagined to exist. There are fish that light up like glow sticks and worms that make a cave's ceiling look like the night sky. Unless you explore the world yourself and actually see this kind of stuff in person, you don't want to miss this amazing series. This isn't one of your average nature shows that you fall asleep to, this is real stuff happening on Earth right now and it will amaze you like nothing else has before.

Calling Breaking Bad a drama is a gross understatement. It transcends all other dramas and all other shows of any category. Watching the pilot is like reaching into a bag of potato chips and pulling out the first chip. It's delicious and tasty and you want to eat the whole bag.  The main character is Walter White, an extremely overqualified high school chemistry teacher who has gone through most of his life without making any decisions for himself. He has a wife who loves him and a disabled son and his unconditional love for them is amazing. During his second job at a run down carwash, he passes out and is sent to the hospital where he finds out he has stage 4 inoperable lung cancer. Walt's reaction to this news is one of the most brilliant things I've seen. The doctor is explaining it to him and all Walt can think about is a mustard stain on the doctor's lab coat. It's the perfect metaphor for Walt's personality. The combination of cancer and everyone trampling all over him his whole life causes him to "break bad" and do what he needs in order to provide for his family, even if that includes cooking meth. Walt didn't just decide on meth out of the blue though. His brother in the DEA takes him to a meth lab bust where he runs into an old student, Jessie. Jessie is an underachieving punk who cooks and sells meth in his free time. Walt sees him as a business partner and it's the beginning of a beautiful and twisted friendship. Walt uses his chemistry expertise to cook the best meth anyone has seen and Jessie helps him distribute. The struggles that Walt and Jessie go through keep you on the edge of your seat to the point where you fall off. All of the acting in the show is amazing. We instantly see ourselves in Walt and the whole point of the show is that none of us would do any different if we were him. I don't know how perfect writing, perfect acting, and perfect cinematography all came together in one show, but it's a perfect storm that will never happen again (and wont last forever due to the cancer eating away at Walt). It's the best show I've ever seen by far and it puts all other shows to shame. A few episodes in and you'll be addicted to it like meth and you'll love every second.

You learn all there is to know about Hank Moody in the first episode. You can sum up his whole life just by looking at his car. He drives a Porsche convertible that looks like it hasn't been washed since he bought it and one of its headlights was destroyed by a man with a baseball bat. Just like the car is expensive yet not taken care of, Hank has success, money, and women, but the last thing on his mind is taking care of himself. The plot is entertaining and it mainly consists of him struggling to make his true love, Karen, fall in love with him again while having sex with every gorgeous women he sees. There's lots of sex and lots of interesting plot twists and it's definitely worth watching.

There Will Be Blood is a movie for anyone who enjoys amazing cinematography, and can relate to a man who dislikes everyone's company. I mean this is in the best possible way of course. Paul Thomas Anderson created a masterpiece of a film set in California in the early 1800s. The cinematography is some of the best I have ever seen. The wonderful California background and breathtaking scenes (like an oil rig being in flames right at sunset) make this film project images you will never forget.  Daniel Day-Lewis plays his part perfectly. He is an oil man  who worked hard his whole life trying to become rich. One day he is mining alone in the middle of nowhere and his ladder breaks leaving him crippled and alone. This didn't stop him from grabbing some silver he was lucky enough to find and crawling probably miles for help. He will do whatever it takes to make enough money so he can get away from people. That's his goal in life, to become alone. This dark man isn't the normal hero you find in a movie and it makes it very different and hard to recommend to most people. For those who can appreciate a good film, this is a must see. If you are a practicing Christian and sensitive about anti-religion films, then you might be better off passing this one by.  As for me, I am an atheist who loves different and wonderfully made films and this is the best one I have ever seen.

Fargo is a very rare occurrence in films. It is a perfect storm of actors, writers/directors, cinematographers, and an amazing plot. Each character has their own unique traits that fit together so well that you wonder if the story is actually based on a true story.  As the plot twists around in a very entertaining way, you are brought on a ride you won't forget. The genius writing of the Coen brothers has never been this good. 'The Big Lebowski' was one of the best films I have ever seen but it doesn't have the same effect that Fargo has.  Movies like this are the reason I watch movies in the first place. It connects with you on a personal level no matter who you are, but especially if you are from the Midwest. If you have ever seen a film in your life you should have seen this one. No chance of disappointment.