Bramar y Idiotez

Books, books and more books!

2011-09-29T17:59:00.004-05:00

Well I went to the west Book-A-Holic store in wichita today because they were having their annual warehouse sale which I have never gone to. Basically on the first day it's 10.00 a bag for as many books as you can stuff in there. Then on friday it's 8.00 a bag, saturday it's 5.00 a bag and then on sunday it's 3.00 a bag. I was handed a plastic bag when I got to the front of the warehouse (there's two double doors in the back of the store which leads you into the warehouse)and my searching started. Now the warehouse isn't really as big as I thought it was going to be but there were definitely a ton of books. That's the positive. The negative was (which was smart for the store) there was no rhyme or reason to organization so you literally had to go down every aisle and look at all the books so you wouldn't hardly miss anything. I got there at about 9:20 (they opened at 9:00) and it was packed already. I started at a section and worked my way around till I was completely done. First I looked at the all the small paperbacks (which is what I like the most anyway) throughout the whole warehouse and was barely scanning the hardcovers and trade paperbacks the first time through. Then I went through a second time to more aggressively look at the hardcovers and the trade paperbacks. (which I like but I didn't see anything that interesting in that format) That's usually what I do when it's this kind of sale. If it was all paperbacks I still would have gone through twice. You never see everything the first time through because you might not be able to concentrate, you're thinking can I look at all of these books, or people are in your way, etc. Now anybody who knows me you know I am not really fond of hardcovers as a rule so it would have to be something I would be really interested in for me to purchase even at these prices. But I did actually find 3 hardcovers and by then my bag was bursting at the seams and I was afraid it was going to explode any moment. In fact when I got home and was dropping the bag on the bed it did rip completely and out came the books! At the end of it all: I got out of there at around 12:30 (that's about 3 hours later for people keeping score) and got 34 books that I can add to the read pile. The cost: roughly 29 cents a book. Mostly science fiction and fantasy (mostly pre-90's) with a little bit of horror thrown in. So I would say it was a successful day for some cheap entertainment and I'll have to check out the next one.

2011-09-18T02:38:00.002-05:00

Silje Leirvik, one of my favorite artists right now! I wish she had a record deal! From Oslo Norway!

2011-07-12T21:51:00.002-05:00

Today Was A Tough Day

2011-03-07T22:16:00.003-06:00

I have a lot of emotions going on right now. We put up the signs today for the store closing. We were all either pricing items, moving stock, moving consignment stuff, and just basically rearranging to get the store ready to go for the morning. I was mainly dealing with all the lps, separating the store stock to move it up front from the consignment stuff to keep that at the place where the vinyl is now. We were reading Facebook and looking at all the reactions from it since the announcement went out last night on there. The outside signs went up today on the store and it looks like the Journal is wanting to do a story on us naturally. I can tell you it looks surreal with all the signs in there. It's like our anniversary sales times two. Of course the nice side of me wants to thank all our loyal customers over the years because we honestly couldn't have done it without them. But unfortunately, the majority of the public have spoken and they don't want us around any more for whatever reason. So now Salina has graduated to another faceless town with nothing different to offer than any other city of their size. Yeah, alright you've got a Target and a Wal-mart to get your obscure cds and dvds. I just hope it was worth it to go to Target or Wal-mart all the time for a few extra bucks while not getting anything but the top 10 or 20 there. I don't know how many times I heard the past few years that people say they looked everywhere but they couldn't find it but they come to our store and we had it in stock. I just love it how people want a freakin' wal-mart in every corner but they give up on a store that gave them so many choices in products and catalogue. It absolutely stuns me sometimes when I think of this. What happened to people that want individuality and uniqueness in their community? Why are people like sheep where they can't figure out that customer service, selection, a knowledge of the product, that yes, it might cost a little more for a more personal relationship with the people who come in. That's what you get when you go to an independent store or at least you should. I should remember what somebody likes or dislikes and try to tell them about it. That's my job, that's the thing that separates us from the corporate stores. Most likely you're not going to have that one on one connection like smaller stores. And that's the key, and I know it costs a little more but I have no problem paying a little more for the selection and customer service I get. I always try to go independent whenever I can because in the long run the people appreciate it more, you feel wanted when you walk in, they're glad to see you. But to not understand that is beyond me. It comes with a price, it always has and it always will. And that's why the good customers understand this. They're not dumb, they know they can sometimes get the product cheaper either through a big box store or something like Amazon. But they choose to SUPPORT the little man, the independent! That's what makes a downtown unique, its own flavor, not corporate america! You know I was driving home tonight after eating out with Phillip and I gotta say I almost broke down, this is tough after 22+ years at the same job. I don't know what the future holds, only God does. I just have to be patient and hope it will all work out. I've been through this before, but with a factory job, not a retail one. But this is one much different, I have met so many good people through this job that I would have never met before. And some I can count as my friends and for that I am truly blessed. That's what gets you through these things. I have a great support system with my family as well. I have a great sister and brother who care about me, a great niece and her husband, Rachel and Jon, and a great nephew and his wife, James and Amy. I have so many great memories with James talking about NBA, the Sega Dreamcast Days, and everything else we talk about. We have talked about almost everything but it usually goes back to the NBA! He probably doesn't know how much I appreciate it over the years, for "getting" me, for understanding me, never judging me, and I truly love him for that. It seems like we have always connected with different things for whatever reasons. I'm lucky to have people like James & Amy, Rachel & Jon, Deb & Eric, and Rick in my life. I love them all. Well I just had the need to put this down in words tonight after dealing with today. I felt like it had to come out. Allright, ready for tomorrow.....

Ross

Faster

2011-03-03T20:27:00.001-06:00

I was thinking this was going to be a typical Dwayne Johnson vehicle but boy was I wrong. This film took a much darker tone than I would have ever thought. After spending 10 years in prison for a botched robbery that left his brother dead, Driver (that's the only name we know) immediately goes looking for the informants that instigated the death of his brother. Meanwhile we have the Cop (Billy Bob Thornton) who's a few weeks away from retirement but has a nasty drug habit who's also trying to reconnect with his only son and the mother of his child. Cicero (Carla Gugino) is on the case when people become murder victims and Driver becomes a wanted man by the police and also by another killer as well. What's the connection with him? Well you'll just have to see the film to find out! Much better than I would have given credit for this was a nice change of pace for Johnson who is not his usually smartass self in this one. Here he is way quieter and much more menacing who must have worked out a hell of a lot to get those guns for arms looking that big. An enjoyable ride (with Driver's car a treat for gearheads) with no holding back on the violence and blood (this is a R-Rated film). Check it out if you want to see Johnson in something other than The Tooth Fairy or Race To Witch Mountain.

Mesrine:Killer Instinct

2011-03-03T20:26:00.003-06:00

A great start of a two parter, this movie is based on famed French criminal Jacques Mesrine played absolutely brilliant by Vincent Cassell. We see Jacques in the Algerian war after the lengthy prologue where he has to do unspeakable things. After leaving the war he lives with his parents and not soon after is running with the wrong crowd. This film had an epic feel to it since it spans through two different decades. We see Mesrine's rise to famous bank robber to a lengthy prison stay. Throughout, the story keeps popping along with a frenetic pace, always interesting with his meetings with two important women in his life among other people. I am being rather vague with this review not really telling you a lot but make no mistake put this one on your list as well as part two which comes out at the end of march on dvd & blu-ray as well. You won't be disappointed! Highly Recommended.

Get Low

2011-03-03T20:25:00.001-06:00

Well I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand the acting in this film is simply amazing particularly Robert Duvall and Bill Murray respectively. On the other hand I was frustrated by the actions of the main character. It involves secrets and is handled rather poorly in my opinion. I can't really say much more than this about it but as I said Duvall was great as a man who wants to go to his funeral before he dies. Murray plays the funeral director that's going to help him out. One can't discount the acting performance of Lucas Black as Buddy, Frank Quinn's (Murray) right hand man at the parlor. Adding to that we have Bill Cobbs as Rev. Charlie Jackson a man who knows a secret about Felix Bush (Duvall) and also Sissy Spacek as Mattie Darrow who Felix has know for years. Duvall is hidden behind a huge scraggly beard and a hat and it's like you don't even see him sometimes which when playing a character that's a great job of acting! Murray is well Murray, the man makes it look effortless. All the actors have some great lines to say but I still have to say it's not a perfect effort by any means. I would have to give it at least 4 stars for the acting alone but a film is not made by just the acting, you have to have direction and a great script and I just thought the script let me down. You might not think that. Check it out for yourselves. Worth it no matter what for the acting!

Road, Movie

2011-03-03T20:24:00.003-06:00

Vishnu (Abhay Deol) is at a crossroads in his life. He doesn't really want to go into business with his father selling his hair oil for the rest of his life so when he gets a chance to drive a worn out beat up 1942 truck to a destination 6 days away for his uncle he jumps at the chance. Along the journey he meets up with a boy who wants to tag along with him (where's his parents?!) so he lets him but it's not soon after that they have trouble with the truck. He can't get it started again so the boy walks off, with Vishnu thinking that he won't come back. The next day the boy (Mohammed Faisal) comes back bringing a mechanic named Om (Satish Kaushik) to help him out. To say Vishnu is a hard guy to like is an understatement. We, the viewer are constantly thinking this guy will never be liked because of the actions he does continually to the boy and the mechanic. However the mechanic gets the truck to start and finds out that Vishnu is actually driving a moving cinema truck with a projector, films, and even a screen. It is the rest of the film where we see these three people with 3 different personalities making a journey driving to Vishnu's destination and meeting different people and embracing life along the way (and showing a movie or two along the way!) This was a pleasant enough feeling movie set in India. It's the kind of movie where people learn about themselves and expose their mind and way of thinking to different thoughts and perspectives. Worth your time if you're wanting to see a film that probably a lot of people wouldn't see or get a chance to see. Not life changing but a nice little film.

A Girl Cut In Two

2011-03-03T20:23:00.003-06:00

This makes my third Claude Chabrol film and I must say this is by far the worst one of the bunch. After seeing The Bridesmaid (pretty good) and earlier La Ceremonie (very good) and still wanting to see his last film he made before his death in september, 2010, Inspector Bellamy I had high hopes for this one but once again it's an unbelievable story about a middle aged man snagging a beautiful weather girl half his age. There's so many of these movies from France but for this one there was just zero chemistry between the two leads Ludivine Sagnier (the girl from Swimming Pool) and Francois Berleand. Adding to that is a rich young man trying to woo her as well and you've got a love triangle on your hands. Benoit Magimel as Paul Gaudens the young man in question came off as a little child most of the time who I expected to see him fall on the floor and cry at the top of his lungs if he didn't get his way. Pretty immature I must say. The one bright spot was Mathilda May (the nude vampire woman from the classic Lifeforce) who was Charles's (Berleand) friend and agent (he's a writer). I can never get over the way that these men just suddenly forget they're married and have a young hottie on the side. They have no remorse and it's particularly sad in this movie because his wife Dona (Valeria Cavalli) clearly loves her husband and they seem to have a great relationship other than he's seeing somebody about 27 years younger than he is. Overall nothing to recommend here.

My Soul To Take

2011-02-24T17:16:00.003-06:00

A great prologue starts the latest offering from famed horror director Wes Craven which seems like I should be more harsh to this film but finding enough things in the film to say I would have to recommend it reservedly. Nothing here we haven't seen before but with an interesting premise that helps move the story along I enjoyed it for the most part. I had some problems with the acting ability of a few leads but overall it wasn't too embarassing. There was a serial killer called "The Ripper" who's death in the town coincides with the birth of seven babies. Now these babies are teenagers and the legend says that one of the seven has the soul of the killer and will start the bloodshed again. By no means is this up to Scream's standards or even Craven's last movie from five years ago "Red Eye" which was a really good action film with no horror elements in it which proved Craven was a director who could do more than horror (which was no surprise to me or countless other horror fans). This will not blow you away but on the other hand you won't regret seeing it either. I just don't know if you'll feel very strong about it in the long run. Time will tell.

Never Let Me Go

2011-02-24T17:15:00.003-06:00

A film that is basically a story about lost love amongst three friends but delves into science fiction also. The first part of the film is set in the 80's where Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are three friends growing up at a private boarding school called Hailsham. Kathy and Ruth are best of friends who do everything together. The two are watching a baseball like game where the pitcher throws what looks like a softball sized ball to the "batter" who has what looks like a tennis racket to hit the ball with. The ball is hit and Tommy has a chance to catch the ball. It sails over his head and over the fence past the boundary of the school. Tommy looks at the fence and decides to not go after the ball. In class the teacher Miss Lucy (Sally Hawkins) who is new at the school asks the students why didn't Tommy get the ball. They tell her because no one's allowed past the boundary of the school. One boy ran off and they found him later with his hands and feet cut off. Miss Lucy asks who told you these things and how do you know they're true. The children answer "everybody knows the story". Miss Lucy then reveals to the class what they are really here for. I was going to reveal what Miss Lucy said to the class but thought otherwise because it is quite powerful in the film and it takes the movie to a much different place where I thought it was going. Here is a movie that the least amount you know the better and more powerful so I advise you not to look at the synopsis on the back of the dvd case or read any reviews that reveal too much and just put the dvd in and push play. On the next day the students are told that Miss Lucy has been relieved of her duties and other teachers will take turns to teach her class. After a few more minutes we jump to years later and we see Ruth (Keira Knightley), Tommy (Andrew Garfield), and Kathy (Carey Mulligan) as twenty somethings. They now live together at a different location and are soon going to drift apart due to decisions made by all three parties involved. This film has great performances from the three leads but the one that was really great was Andrew Garfield's. In one scene we see Tommy saying to Kathy that he's got to get out of the car, he just needs to breath, we the viewer have just seen an important plot point between the two, so when Tommy gets out of the car he walks a little ahead on the road and just starts yelling at the top of his lungs, with rage and sadness, while Kathy rushes to Tommy and they embrace. A great scene considering what is going on within the film. I would also have to say that the musical score is one of the best I have heard in ages. It is mainly an overriding theme that you hear and later you hear again. It is mainly the cello which is a great instrument for conveying love, sadness, and loss. And this movie has all these three things. It's tough to watch sometimes because of the children's fate but stick with it because it's worth it. Carey Mulligan shows here that her turn in An Education was no fluke while Keira Knightley was fine in her own right as well. Highly recommended.

Chain Letter

2011-02-24T17:14:00.003-06:00

This one's for Jessica B: A nice little horror film that begins with an "oh shit" moment and takes off from there. A group of high schoolers get an annoying chain letter email and are informed if they don't send it to 5 more people they will die within 24 hours. Starring Nikki Reed (my second movie of the night with her but a much better performance) as Jessie Campbell, and among others Keith David as detective Jim Crenshaw, Betsy Russell (!) as sergeant Hamill and Brad Dourif as Mr. Smirker, one of the teachers at the school. How'd you like to have Mr. Dourif as one of your teachers, huh? The man exudes creepiness in all of his roles and that's why he's always so fun to watch as he is in this film as well. Yeah I know all the high schoolers look like they're too old to go to high school but has that ever stopped us from liking a horror film? Um...no! Eventually more and more people are dying and it's up to Crenshaw to figure out who's doing it and why. With only some chain links with a unique symbol on them at the murder scenes for clues, he will have to work quickly to figure out the killer. Part of this movie reminded me of the Final Destination series a little bit while at other times it was a lot like the horror movies of 4-5 years ago (Cry Wolf, Stay Alive which got a lot of their foundation of stories more or less from the late 90's horror renaissance: Scream (1996), The Faculty (1998), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), Urban Legend (1998)), so if you're interested in seeing a somewhat solid horror thriller with snappy pacing, some good kill scenes with an interesting mode of death (chains) try this on for size. Recommended.

Last Day Of Summer

2011-02-24T17:08:00.004-06:00

Here's a movie with an identity crisis and ends up disappointing the viewer because there's not enough comedy and too much drama that seems mean spirited and forced. Starring D.J. Qualls (good god man, eat a sandwich!) and Nikki Reed with William Sadler as Joe's (Qualls) asswipe of a boss Mr. Crolick where both of them work at a burger joint.

To say that he's a horrible boss is an understatement. He makes fun of Joe constantly and has him cleaning out toilets for most of the time he's there. He constantly tells him he's not much of an employee so basically Joe is feeling rather worthless most of the time. He's fed up with his boss so he sets out to do something about it. But he chickens out and now feels even worse and It is that day when he meets up with Stefanie who is walking out of the restaurant. She doesn't talk to him because she doesn't know him. He thought she had looked at him so he's confused by the silence. What he does next basically ruined the rest of the movie for me because it just didn't make any sense to me within the context of the film. Besides having no chemistry between the two leads the director (Vlad Yudin) can't make up his mind if he wants a comedy or a drama. Basically it's not the actor's fault because they do what they can with the script. Look Qualls and Reed are not going to win any acting awards in the near future but both have done some good decent roles in the past (Reed for Thirteen, Mini's Last Time and Qualls for The New Guy and a small role in I'm Reed Fish). I would say that William Sadler puts in the best performance by far. He is truly a boss you love to hate in this film. I just can't recommend it for that performance alone though. You can pass on this one if you want.

Jack Goes Boating

2011-02-20T00:29:00.003-06:00

Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of our better actors working today. He can play almost any character and has. Here he is directing himself from a play written by Robert Glaudini. Hoffman plays Jack, a extremely introverted, shy, scared man who has a job driving for a limousine service. His best friend Clyde (John Ortiz in arguably the best performance here) also works there and he and his girlfriend Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega) decide to set Jack up on a blind date. Enter Connie (Amy Ryan, so underrated) who has a few of her own problems with being in other people's company also. Meanwhile Clyde is teaching Jack how to swim because he wants to go boating in the spring since Connie has said she'd like to. You see some growing compassion between the two as the movie continues while the other couple Clyde and Lucy are drifting apart in so many ways. There are a couple of scenes between Clyde and Lucy that seem so real in the way that you the viewer know that something close to dreadful is going to happen. It's about one couple who's just starting out in a relationship and another one drifting apart. I'd have to say I'd watch this more for the performances of the actors than the film itself. They are superb.

You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger

2011-02-20T00:28:00.003-06:00

The new one from Woody Allen with a great cast but a lifeless script eventually lets it down for more than one or two viewings. But the cast! One of his best in years: Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, all do a great job with what they're given but it's just not enough. There are also some other nice performances from Freida Pinto who plays Dia, the girl that Roy (Brolin) is obsessed with and Lucy Punch who plays Charmaine, the girl that Alfie (Hopkins) ends up marrying after he divorces Helena (Gemma Jones) who is Sally's (Naomi Watts) mother. From an author who is having problems writing his next novel to a older woman who is listening a little too much to a fake fortune teller and a woman who's working for an art dealer who's she's fond of a little bit too much there are a lot of characters who really aren't that likeable in this film. All of these people are dealing with love lost, lust, greed, vanity amongst other things. I just wish it was a better film. A disappointment.

Monsters

2011-02-20T00:27:00.003-06:00

A monster movie that's more about two people bonding than the monsters themselves. That's what I'd have to say about this film. If you're expecting something like Cloverfield you will be majorly disappointed but if you're open minded enough about this movie you will be rewarded. But don't think that the monsters aren't impressive though because when they do show up (where the man and the woman are passing through the "infected" zone with their guides) it is an impressive sight. Andrew is a photographer who's in Mexico taking pictures when he is ordered by his boss to take the boss's daughter Sam back home to America. The only problem with that is that through some fault of Andrew's they are left to go through an area of land that's northern Mexico and the southern part of the United States called the "infected zone". It's called that because of a probe sent earlier has returned and brought with it creatures not from our earth. These creatures are living in the zone and are being "contained" within this area. The U.S. even put up a giant wall to keep them out. So the only way back is through the zone. Scott McNairy & Whitney Able do an incredible job here as the main characters as well as all the secondary characters who actually are, from what I've understood, real people interacting with them! This brings a natural element to the film that seems more real. Truly a unique film that will probably be shit on because of some people's own misconceptions of what they thought it should be. Worth the time if you're willing.

A French Gigolo

2011-02-20T00:26:00.001-06:00

Okay, I should have known my streak of good foreign films was going to run out eventually. All the warning signs were there too. A french woman who's horny for a lay in the hay with a male prostitute who's married. These are the kind of foreign movies I saw growing up which I never cared for at all. Everybody's always having sex with what seems like not a care in the world for ramifications of said actions. These movies are always the same, some older woman is looking for a little something either on the side (because her husband is just not doing it for her anymore) or in this case because she's rich and doesn't want a commitment (?) I almost shut this movie off a few times but I was hoping it was going to surprise me but I should have known! Utterly a waste of my time and yours if you watch this drivel. Definitely not up to the standard of foreign movies today. You have been warned!

Wild Target

2011-02-20T00:25:00.003-06:00

An amusing british comedy about a hit man (Bill Nighy) who can't seem to kill his latest job (Emily Blunt) who happens to be a thief. An innocent bystander (Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies) is suddenly brought into their predicament and its not too long after that his employer brings in another hitman to exterminate him. After a car chase and a few near misses the movie slows down a little to flesh out the characters so we learn more about them. When the movie speeds up it's not too bad but when the characters are waiting around then the script tends to slow to a crawl. There's just not that much going on. Still, having said that Bill Nighy was good in this role as was Emily Blunt. Rupert Grint on the other hand didn't really bring anything to the table. I thought that anybody could have played his role and it would have been fine. Worth watching for at least one time but more?, I don't know.

The Social Network

2011-02-20T00:24:00.003-06:00

As the film The Social Network opens we see Mark Zuckerberg talking to his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara, the new Lisbeth Salander in the U.S. versions of the Stieg Larsson trilogy) and we soon learn that he is exhausting to talk to. It seems that he thinks way faster than everybody else and he has to wait for everybody else to catch up. Of course in a regular conversation with a beautiful girl this probably won't get you any points for a stimulating evening as he soon learns. He runs back to his room at Harvard and starts what eventually, with some help from his one true friend Eduardo (Andrew Garfield, the new Spiderman!), who has the algorithim and the cash, to start the worldwide phenomenon that is Facebook. The movie is basically about the lawsuits that were brought to him from the Winklevoss twins who say he stole their idea for a Harvard social networking site and from his best friend Eduardo who says he shut him out of the Facebook company. The movie shows how two friends grew so far apart. There are quite a few scenes in the lawyer's offices where the lawsuits are taking place and it is there where the best lines come in the movie. The lawyers are expecting to intimidate this young kid but in the long run this kid knows more about their profession that they do. The four main characters in this movie have done some amazing work here. Jesse Eisenberg, fresh off his turn in Zombieland was great as Mr. Zuckerberg as well as Andrew Garfield as Eduardo. After just seeing him in the first movie of the Red Riding trilogy he is very good here. Also Armie Hammer Jr. is twice as good since he has to play both of the Winklevoss twins. And we can't forget Justin Timberlake as the Napster creator Sean Parker who stirs up trouble when he arrives on the scene. Excellent direction by David Fincher with a great score by Trent Reznor who may get an Academy Award for his music for the film. A film about a guy who just wants to fit in and get the girl because it's always about getting the girl isn't it? You can tell this film is made by some talented people. Highly recommended.

Middle Men

2011-02-10T18:25:00.001-06:00

Luke Wilson is probably lesser know that his brother Owen but he has definitely done some great work in the past and once again he does it here. In this film he plays basically a fixer. When people have a problem he fixes it. Sometimes he's dealing with a little different group of people, say maybe a criminal element. Meanwhile we have these two idiots (well kind of anyways) named Buck Dolby (Gabriel Macht), a former rocket scientist who just moved out to L.A. with his best friend, Wayne Beering (Giovanni Ribisi, here in crazy-paranoid mode), a guy who doesn't have a job and really is not trying too hard to get one. One night, Wayne is looking at porn on the computer (it's the late 80's-early 90's) and is bored by it. He says they could put some pictures up and charge people to look at them. Buck says there's no program for this and keeps repeating this while Wayne keeps telling him his suggestion. All of a sudden Buck tells Wayne to shut up and he goes to his computer and writes code for a billing system that supposedly now all the big corporations use to bill people with. It's not too long when they're making more money than they know what to do with. That's when Jack Harris (Luke Wilson) comes in. He is told by Jerry Haggarty (James Caan) about these two men and comes up with a plan to organize their company. Of course other things have happened that Jack will soon learn about and that's when Jack starts his journey as a "middle man". Superbly written and great acting from all involved especially Wilson, Ribisi, Macht and Rade Sherbedgia (a russian mobster). Laura Ramsey (The Ruins, Venom, Shrink) plays porn star Audrey Dawns, a woman who gets caught up helping, of all people, an fbi operative (Kevin Pollak). I kind of figured this was going to be a good film but was pleasantly surprised by how good. It had an epic feel to it which is hard to explain. The story spread out many years and was always captivating especially with Jack's narration many times. I was torn between 31/2 and 4 stars but went with 3 1/2. Maybe it's a four star movie, we shall see. Needless to say, it is definitely worth your time. Recommended!

You Again

2011-02-10T18:24:00.001-06:00

Kristen Bell has been in some pretty successful films as of late. In 2008 she was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Jason Segel, Couples Retreat in 2009, When In Rome in 2010, and also this movie which came out in September 2010. Here she plays Marni, a successful p.r. executive who had a horrible time in high school. She had some serious acne problems, wore glasses, had braces, and was ridiculed nonstop by the head girl in the school J.J. (Odette Yustman). But now that's all behind her...or so she thinks. When she arrives home for her brother's wedding she hasn't yet met his fiance. Her mom Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) tells her that she went to her school as well. But Marni doesn't remember a girl named Joanna in high school. Gail tells her no she went by a different name in high school, something with just letters in it......It's not soon after that Marnie figures out who she's talking about. She's not going to stand for this and she's gotta figure out how to convince her brother Will (James Wolk) to call off the wedding. Meanwhile Joanna's aunt comes down for the wedding and it's this time when Gail realizes that she knows her as well. She's Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) from high school. They were best friends until something happened on prom night. Adding to all of this is Marni's grandmother Bunny (played great by Betty White-doesn't she always play these characters well?) and Marni's dad played by Victor Garber. So we have two different generations of women who have a nemesis. Nice performances from the cast but you should with a cast like this. It was nice to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver together. Both have done some nice comedic work as well as the other films they're more well known for. As for Bell and Yustman, nice turns for the young ladies as well. Overall a very nice romantic comedy that doesn't necessarily rise above the standard but doesn't lower it either. Recommended.

Knock Knock

2011-02-10T18:23:00.005-06:00

There are some horror movies that aren't that original but yet you see something in them that you know there's potential there. While I liked a lot of things in this film there were a few things that weren't so good either but director Joseph Ariola did more good than bad. First off the music had kind of an industrial sound to it that worked more than it didn't. Also you know those times that some things happen which are so ridiculous you have to laugh? Well they're in here too! There's a killer going around knocking on doors and then disposing of them in rather unique and quite gory ways. The killer's mask: not so good, but the gore: pretty good! When we first see head town cop Billie Vega (Kim Taggart) on the scene she's wearing a see through blouse underneath her suit coat!! I thought that was a little hilarious! That's some different attire trying to solve crimes! At first I thought she was just came from a social event but no that's how she's dressing. There's another time when about 4 of the kids are walking in a wooded area when one of the girls is walking ahead of everybody when suddenly she screams and tells them that she saw that guy again, the one she saw outside the diner earlier. Of course they don't really believe her and they ask her where's he at now and she doesn't see him anymore, but as soon as they turn around not 15 feet away the camera shows the killer behind them! I had to laugh! It's this kind of things that made it a little amateurish but the filmmaker's heart is in the right place. Eventually, with a lot of help from a former cop MIke (Antonio Mastrantonio). When I say a lot of help that's what I mean. Billie Vega and her dimwit deputy don't really figure anything out at all! They're totally inept! The film is basically geared more toward the adults trying to figure out what's going on with these kids being murdered and not so much about the kids. As far as the acting goes nobody is very good except for Mike the former cop. Antonio Mastrantonio does a very good job in his performance. This movie came out in 2007 and it's Joseph Ariola's last project on IMDB. This makes me think that since this movie didn't do to good financially that he doesn't have a project in the works. It's too bad, really because I bet with more money and better actors the guy could do something as good as good as all the other slop that gets released direct to dvd. It is a film that has a lot of issues but yet I found enough things in it that I can truly recommend it to the slasher/horror film fan who doesn't nitpick every little thing. And when something happens that's ridiculous in the film? Just enjoy it. Does that make sense? Hey it might not but it is what it is.

Blackout

2011-02-10T18:23:00.002-06:00

A little diversion of your time about 3 people who are trapped in an elevator and are slowly going a little bit crazy. We see each person's life and why they are here at this exact time in the elevator in flashbacks to learn more and more about the characters in the film. Gradually things go deadly when one of the characters starts taking control of the situation the wrong way and bad painful things start happening. Basically there are three leads, Amber Tamblyn (wow, seven years ago when Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants came out, how time flys!) plays Claudia, who's dealing with an ailing family member, Tommy (Armie Hammer, one of the Winklevoss twins in Social Network), who's trying to make a better life for himself and his girlfriend, and Karl (Aiden Gillen-maybe his biggest role was when he played Lord Nelson Rathbone in the movie Shanghai Knights), who's dealing with custody of his daughter. All in all, pretty good performances by all but it really doesn't rise much above average. Recommended only if you can own it for 2 or 3 bucks at the most.

Wild Cherry

2011-02-08T12:37:00.002-06:00

An average movie about again losing one's virginity. At clocking in at 80 minutes it won't take up too much of your time. Starring a lot of young up and coming actors (Rumer Willis, Kristin Cavallari, Tania Raymonde and Ryan Merriman) and a pretty good turn from Rob Schneider as the dad to Helen (Raymonde). All do a good job but they are ultimately let down by the script that seems to be a little uninspired. I can't say the film doesn't have its merits however mainly because of the scenes with Schneider. I have to say that his performance was the best among all of these. The three main girls were also much better than the guys but that's probably because the script didn't really have anything for the male leads to do throughout the film so you didn't really have a connection with any of them. It is mainly from the three girls' perspectives, specifically from Helen's. Directed but without any real flair by Dana Lustig (Kill Me Later, Wedding Bell Blues) this film had me thinking about how good a comedy it could have been. Average at best.

Machete

2011-02-08T12:36:00.001-06:00

A ridiculously over the top movie that pulls no punches on the gore, nudity and despicable characters that only a tribute to exploitation movies can do. Expertly directed by Robert Rodriguez this is exactly what you think it is. Look at the cast!: Besides Danny Trejo in the title role we have Robert De Niro as Sen. McLaughlin, Steven Seagal as Torrez (a truly horrible man), Doc Johnson as Von (equally horrible), Jeff Fahey as Booth (ditto) and let's not forget the women in this movie, Jessica Alba as Sartana, an immigration cop, Michelle Rodriguez as Luz who may or may not be the underground resistance leader She (and who hasn't looked better), and Lindsay Lohan as Booth's daughter April. Add to that Tom Savini, Daryl Sabara, and Cheech Marin! Never mind the plot! You don't see this movie for the plot, you see it for the crazy action, stunts, gore, babes, etc. A true grindhouse film I do hope these guys (Rodriguez, Roth, Tarantino) continue to do this kind of film besides their other films once in a while. They have all captured the look and feel of an era that was the 70's exploitation film. A fun time! Recommended!