Looking Ahead

Lots of new/upcoming films that I'm very intrigued by...here's a look:



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Story: An injured Marine named Jake Sully travels to a forest-like planet named Pandora to recieve a new body: that of a human-Na'vi (Pandora's inhabitants) hybrid. The Na'vi are blue with tails and stand about 9 feet tall. They are considered primitive but, unbeknownst to humans, are actually more advanced. The Na'vi's land is being encroached upon by the humans and Jake, in his quest for a healthy body, has unwittingly become a part of that. War ensues...

This movie is touted to be the future of movies: effortlessly combining 3D graphics and new filming techniques. I can't wait until it comes out!

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Another film, Inglorious Basterds, has been making headway lately as an interesting differing view of the discord between the Nazi's and the Jews... it is Tarantino's vision of what should have occurred...

He has even somehow managed to make a lovable Nazi character... interesting...

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Tarantino is a bit of a genius...the film centers (so it seems) around a premiere of a Nazi propaganda film set to inspire the soldiers. The trailer for this film has actually been released (Viral Marketing at its finest!) and is garnering much hype (and discontent...):

Looking forward to finding some time to catch these...if you get 'em first shoot me a review in the comments!

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THE Illest HANGOVER everrr!!!!

O. My. Gawd.

THE HANGOVER

...funniest movie I've seen...if not EVER...then in a REALLY LONG TIME!!!



How can you NOT watch this one? Bachelor party in Las Vegas gone extreeeeemely wrong. Except no one can remember any of it. And they dun lost the damn groom!

Time for some alliteration:

Boobs. Bush. Benz. Booze. Ballin'. Beasts. Brothers. Baby. Boxer. Bets. Bangin'. Bitches. Bootin'. Bare Butts. Babes. BJs. Blackmail. Balls. Brazen. Bad Boys. Burglary. Bellies. Broads. Buffoonery. Bunghole-ness. Bachelors Behaving Badly.

BAM BAM BAM!!! COMEDY! BANG!

From start to finish, it was AWESOME. They even threw in some heartfelt stuff in there. But don't worry, that was kept at a minimum. All three of those moments literally went like this:

O AWWWW..how sweet.. wait.. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

There weren't a lot of giggle moments. There were hella GUFFAW sessions!!! I don't think there was more than a four to five minute lapse between laughs.

I can't stress enough how hilarious this movie is.

I hate hype around movies. I usually only use them as gauges for whether or not I should spend a grip on a movie I had already thought about seeing. I don't use it to tell me WHAT movies to see. That initial decision to take any movie in consideration comes from movie trailers. I look for substance, people. Popularity contests stay in the school yard. I'm grown. I have a mind of my own. You can only do your worst to convince me.

But damn! You can't go wrong when EVERY review (whether from a pro critic or lil tweets on twitter) says it's the funniest movie ever!

What does it have? All types of humor. Slap stick (of which there are plenty). Racial (lightly so). Dark (some very o damn moments). Witty (no doubt). Crude (um, hell yea!).

I'm telling you. Watch this one. You won't regret it.

Holla.



My love for this gem of a comedy:


If you want more:


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*Highlights* - UP Up and AWAY! Afterwards...

UP!
It was almost a full house when I went to go see it in 3D! Man, those tickets are EXPENSIVE. My wallet is in SHOCK right now.

But anyway...UP was a REALLY cute movie. Now, I don't know how much of a children's movie it is though. It's a little heavy for young kids. I see the appeal for children. Flying house. Zillions of balloons. Talking dogs. Funny birds.

But dreams and dealing with dashed dreams...it's a little much for the yung'uns. The whole movie jumped back and forth between cute and melancholy pretty consistently. Jerkin tears from lots of folks around me.

Overall, it wasn't what I expected. I expected more slap sticky kiddie fun. Definitely had that element but doesn't seem to be what it's aiming for. People have told me it's a sad movie but I was thinking "Ok, so like at the end?" No. That cloud was lurking at every corner. (Speaking of clouds, the short at the beginning, "Partly Cloudy," was so awww sweet!) The 3D parts...I was expecting like ZOOM! POW! ZIP!!! PEW!!! Not a lot of that actually. Makes me wonder if it was really worth paying $16.50 for it instead of the $12.50 for the regular screen. But the graphics were still visually amazing, especially the shots of the photos.



I still liked the movie a lot because, taking away all the hype and all the pretenses, the movie was genuinely a really strong movie. I can empathize with some of the characters and the realness of the stories while still maintaining a certain purity and innocence that allows for a happy ending. Who doesn't love happy endings?!

I can go a little deeper in the analysis, too. I mean the movie is called UP but the whole time, they're racing against time and running into obstacles that keep the house from staying up. Old, young. Childhood dreams, old age missions. Holding on, letting go. Living in the past, starting anew. Disappointments, heros. Duality and parallelism! I love it!

My final rating for the movie:

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*Highlights* - UP Up and AWAY!

Okay. I haven't seen UP yet. But I will today. I've heard good things about it. I've wanted to see it since I saw a theatrical preview for it a while back.



I HATE expecting a certain level of entertainment from a movie that has been surrounded by a lot of hype. I've been sorely disappointed before. It's really difficult not to get caught up in the hype though.

But, just going from my initial excitement for it months ago, the projected personal enjoyment level is:


A review to come later today.

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*Highlights* - Great 5-Min Movies pt. 4

MUSECATTO says:

This week, we're concluding our "Great 5-Minute Movies" series with three flicks about HIGHLY dysfunctional families. You thought yours was bad? Have a look, and enjoy:

She's got some nerve - a Low Down Dirty Shame... and he's just as bad!


Hey, they all look alike, right?


This guy may earn the award for WORST FATHER EVER!


These films were pretty good, but I'm in a great mood right now, so how about some grade inflation? Just pretend you go to Harvard; they're used to it! 5 stars, Cum Laude:

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*Highlights* - Fast and Furious!!!

Gotham Days says:

What IS it about the Fast + Furious franchise that's SO appealing to me?! I mean I don't know cars. Sure, I can ID a bunch of logos but I know nothing about the magical inner workings of vehicles. I'm just proud I figured out how to refill the wiper fluid all by myself.

I guess I'm a sucker for adrenaline movies but still...there is just something else about fast cars and more fast cars that does it for me. A little bit of wanting to drive that incredibly fast and be good at it. Something about being that girl in the garage. Shrug. Just a little fantasy.

I am SUPER excited for Fast and Furious!!! The fourth movie in the line-up. How can you NOT be excited?! Watch first. I'll explain the enthusiasm afterward. Watch:



So WHY am I pushing this movie so hard? Because it has all the elements I enjoyed from the three movies that came before this next one.
1. The cast from the The Fast and The Furious (the first one) is back. I liked certain characters in the second and third movies but I really enjoyed the first cast as a whole.
2. Also, The Fast and the Furious had the insanely cool heist-at-high-speeds tricks that the other two movies lacked. I am definitely looking forward to more of that.
3. The plot for 2Fast 2Furious included a purpose to the debauchery other than "We're criminals. We're adrenaline junkies. It's how we do." The characters had motives and motivation. Desperation, really. But it's a powerful motivator.
4. The director of Tokyo Drift is directing this new one. I have to say, Justin Lin's direction may have been the only saving grace on the payroll for a movie about a boy with a deep deep deep southern drawl living in the middle of Japan.


FAST AND FURIOUS comes out this Friday, April 3rd.

SEE YOU THERE!!!

The excitement level for this adrenaline rush:
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*Highlights* - Great 5-Min Movies pt. 3

MUSECATTO says:

As promised, this week we have another set of great 5-min movies to entertain.  The chosen 3 this time around are disturbingly funny.  Why disturbing?  Because chances are you'll be repulsed at several points as you watch, and STILL you'll find yourself unable to pull your eyes away.  Enjoy!

WE ALL did it, picking scabs when we shouldn't. This piece perfectly captures the anxiety, frustration, and itching sensation that scabs cause. The background music does veer on the annoying side, but the plot will completely captivate you. Prepare to be disgusted and enthralled.

This laughably raunchy, & unpredictable film will leave you unsettled.  While certain sections are a bit overdone, the camera work and voyeuristic feel are very successful.  Be careful, the ending may give you the runs!

This comedy will definitely make you LOL at least twice. The misguided love affair, invasive and real cinematography, and hysterical plot tangents make this flick a MUST-SEE!


This week's selections, while pretty darn good, aren't quite Cum Laude like the past two weeks. Still, they graduate with honors, getting 4/5 caps:

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*Highlights* - I Love You Man

GUY INCOG says:

We seem to be entering a golden era of movies. Either that or the worsening recession is driving people towards escapist pastimes. Either way, there are a TON of good movies coming out in the coming months.

I Love You, Man delivers everything you'd expect and nothing more. High energy comedy, requisite plot twists and a kind of weird gay vibe.

Now, this is a movie about dudes dating and hanging out with dudes. There are several guys in the movie who are gay. Why then do I bother to mention a 'weird gay vibe'? Because the heterosexual interactions in the movie seem a bit too contrived to be accepted. As a result, they come across as something not quite heterosexual. Straight guys just don't go to that much effort to hang out with guys they don't already know well. It just doesn't happen. There has to be some ulterior motive. As a result, whenever I saw the straight guys hanging out, all I could think is "This is.... kinda gay." Poker game with friends? Straight. Fishing for an invite to a poker game with guys you don't know? Kinda gay.

Overall though, a solid movie that falters on issues that nobody cares about:
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*Highlights* - Great 5-Min Movies pt. 2

MUSECATTO says:

This week's picks for great 5-minute movies all successfully mix comedy with insanity - a tricky combination, but when done correctly you might in up ROFL. Each of the 3 movies below successfully takes the viewer on a journey into the personal inner-workings of the main character. I trust that you will find these short movies insanely enjoyable.  Click here to view last week's Favorite Featured Flicks...

Something's fishy in this mystery. This dark story is simply brilliant!


One of our favorite characters from last week returns in an equally funny, simple, yet intelligent comedy:


This old lady will likely bring you to Laugh Out Loud at least once!


The comical insanity in these flicks earns this week's picks cum laude status yet again:

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*Highlights* - Coraline

GUY INCOG says:



Some movies just aren't meant to have mass appeal. Ultimately the effect of attempting to make Coraline all things to all people is that it's a bit dark for the kids and not dark enough for adults. No responsible parent would take a young child to see this movie since it would likely cause them to wake screaming in the night. Teenagers will find Coraline relatable at first but ultimately stunted as a character. Lastly, adults will find the movie a bit abrupt and saccharine. As a result, despite fantastic artwork and an intriguing storyline, it ends up not having the staying power of dark classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas.
This movie gets...

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*Highlights* - Great 5-Min Movies

MUSECATTO says:

Yesterday I discovered this YouTube Channel with tons of phenomenal short films. Here are three of my favorites, but I will be highlighting several others in the coming weeks. This week's short films all showcase "Humanity" whether that be our weaknesses, fears, desires, or courage. Enjoy and stop by next week for 3 more of my favorite picks. And comment! Let me know your thoughts!

This one has a surprising/gut-wrenching ending:



Great acting and really touching:



Funny and thought-provoking:


All of these vids get 5 caps from me! They're cum laude material...great.  
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*Highlights* - Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

GOTHAM DAYS says:
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li comes out this week in theatres.



Now I was never up on the video games but who DIDN'T know who Chun-Li is?! Of course when Street Fighter first came out, it was a load of stereotypes perpetuated to perpetuate sales and Chun-Li came out in cutesy hair buns and a skankified qipao. From the looks of the trailer, it seems the movie managed to update its social etiquette manual and Chun-Li (played by Kristin Kreuk who found fame in another superhuman fantasy) looks...normal. What a relief! (Just a note, Kreuk is of mixed descent, not full-whateverAsiandescent. That may mean something to some people, but it doesn't really matter to me all that much...enough to mention the fact but not enough to piss myself over it.)

In this movie, Chun-Li is an InterPol agent out to avenge her father's death. I mean it's a movie based on a video game. Minimal plot is needed a long as the action fills up that void. So far, it looks alright. Check it out when it comes out on Friday!


The excitement level for the movie:
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*Highlights* - Madea May Deserve "Death Row"

MUSECATTO says:

Send Madea to “Death Row,” not “Jail”

Don’t be fooled by the #1 Box Office ranking Madea received this weekend. Clearly with Tyler Perry fans, the support will always make it to theaters…I just wish I hadn’t.

Following his creation of the dramatic and thrilling hits, “Why Did I Get Married” and “The Family that Preys,” Perry has revived the hugely popular and iconic Madea in the comedy “Madea Goes to Jail.” After seeing it, however, viewers may question whether Madea should have bypassed jail all together and gone straight to the Electric Chair.

This Madea installment offers the usual characters as well as the now-expected bold-faced, self-help doctrine. But where, oh where, was the Script(ure?)! After all, without a solid written foundation, all movies fall flat, and “Madea Goes to Jail” is no exception.

Here’s the good: The plot, which revolves around Madea’s crazy family, a tortured prostitute, and a few high-powered and attractive lawyers, certainly had its nuances and strengths. The new characters brought the welcomed character depth that we received in Perry’s most recent dramatic movie ventures. With quality performances by Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy from “the Cosby Show”) and the surprising appearances of Dr. Phil and the ladies of “The View,” the film found a touch of redemption. Also, as with all Tyler Perry films, “Madea Goes to Jail” offered an inspiring, instructional, and honest message of hope.

So where did the film fail? Quite frankly, the predictability, blatant ideological banter, and underdeveloped dialogue made it difficult to ever fully enjoy the experience. In viewing this film, it becomes evident that Madea’s family is solely there for comedic relief. Unfortunately their character development is stagnant and the family’s over-the-top antics have become too familiar. Much like Perry’s spin-off shows “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne,” the funny-factor is fleeting. In fact, most of the “laugh out loud” scenes have already been broadcast in the movie trailers.

Mr. Perry still needs to learn that while “wild and crazy” makes for a great time, without enough footing in reality, viewers won’t often find the world believable. The art of comic subtlety...

Ultimately, if you have a few hours to kill and are in the mood for a mediocre, pretty funny flick, then check out “Madea Goes to Jail.” Feel free to object to my verdict on the film and be your own judge. I’m curious to see what your ruling will be.

“Madea Goes to Jail” is in theaters now.

Madea gets:

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