Top 5 Christmas Holiday Movies

#5

Elf

            Will Ferrell gives another unforgettable character in Buddy the Elf, a grown man working as one of Santa’s elf’s goes on a trip of a life time to New York City.  This non-stop laughing comedy is great for all ages and really helps get you in the Christmas spirit mood. 

#4

Die Hard

            You might not think of this as a holiday movie, but the fact of the matter is the original Die Hard, which is full of classic one liners, takes lace on Christmas Eve.  I don’t know about you but nothing gets me more in the Christmas spirit than watching Bruce Willis single-handedly take down a group of terrorist.   

#3

Home Alone

            Macaulay Culkin became a child star over night after he gave Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern a good old fashion Christmas beat down.  It’s a great family film with a fun entertaining plot.

#2

Love Actually

            If you love Christmas and romantic comedies, you’ll love Love Actually.  Its 8 (maybe more) romantic comedies in one all twined together over the Christmas holiday.  Some characters give more memorable performances than others, but either way you’ll be singing Billy Mac’s Christmas hit throughout the holidays. 

#1

A Christmas Story

            The story of a young mans quest to get his hands on a Red Ryder BB gun is an instant classic that will be around forever.  The whole movie is full of memorable moments, but none more memorable then the Christmas dinner at the Chinese restaurant, the kids tongue getting stuck to the pool, and of course the fragile leg lamp.  A Christmas Story is the clear winner of Christmas holiday movies.



Must See Movies Coming Out In 2012

The Bourne Legacy

Release Date: August 3, 2012

            The Bourne franchise has been amazing thus far, with three all around great movies.  However, The Bourne Legacy has switched things up and starting new since Jason Bourne’s (Matt Damon) storyline ended in the last movie.  The new star of these films is Jeremy Renner; a very talented actor that I think will do just fine in filling Damon’s shoes. 

The Avengers

Release Date: May 4, 2012

            I have high hopes for the Avengers movie since Ironman, Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk were all solid films.  With the additions of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, The Avengers is a can’t miss.  The storyline is, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agency brings together a team of superhumans (the avengers) to help save the Earth from extinction by extraterrestrial invaders. 

James Bond: Skyfall

Release Date: November 9, 2012

            Daniel Craig’s first two Bond films have been two of the franchise’s best in my opinion, and I expect Craig’s third installment as Bond to just as good as the previous two. 

The Dark Knight Rises

Release Date: July 20, 2012

            After 8 years of retirement, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is forced to put back on the suit when the terrorist leader Bane arrives in Gotham City; Bane forces Batman to his breaking point and beyond.  Director Christopher Nolan made the previous two Batman movies which where both flat out amazing.  With Nolan directing again and Bale back as Batman I expect The Dark Knight Rises to be the best film of the summer and maybe even the year.  It is definitely the movie I am looking forward to the most, just talking about it gets me fired up and ready for July 20.

Great Movie Site's!

When you’re on the fence about whether or not to see a movie and you want to know more about it then just watching the trailer on YouTube, there a some other site’s I find very useful. 

Rottentomatoes is an excellent site that uses a rating system that tells you both what critics thought of a movie and what regular viewers thought of it as well.  I also find Rottentomatoes helpful, because every movie has dozens of short little reviews that let you know what critics thought of the movie.   

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/     

The other site that I use a ton and find to be quite reliable is IMBd (Internet Movie Database).  It is similar to Rottentomatoes in a lot of ways, but also has some things that set it apart.  What I enjoy the most from this site is it has a top 250 movies of all time which is a great list to go find a really enjoyable movie that you haven’t seen before.

http://www.imdb.com/

P.S.- If you have a smart phone Flixster is a great movie app to download.

Is 3D Overrated?

3D is currently Hollywood’s newest craze, it seems everyday more and more movies are coming out in 3D.  Everyone’s always waiting and excited when any new advancement in technology comes out.  However, I am not a fan of 3D, sometimes things are best left alone and in this case I feel Hollywood should leave the latest technology advancement alone. 

Here is my reasoning:

• It adds nothing important to the movie going experience
• Having to wear the 3D classes can create an annoying distracting to some people
• In some cases the glasses can cause nausea and headaches for the viewer
• I can’t picture any serious movie being filmed in 3D its just wouldn’t work, 3D only works for an action movie
• It’s more expensive, it can raise the price of a movie ticket by almost 5 dollars!
• Great movies don’t need to be in 3D

For these reason I feel the 3D movies are unnecessary and overrated.  Unfortunately Avatar gave Hollywood its biggest payday ever, which makes me fear that 3D movies aren’t going away anytime soon.

Hollywood

          In this post I’m going to take a set back from reviewing movies and instead talk about the history of Hollywood.  Hollywood has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century and has helped the U.S. film industry make more money each year then any other country since 1920.  Hollywood’s history can be divided into four main parts.  Theses four parts are known as the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period.

The silent film era (1894-1929) refers to a film with no synchronized recorded sound or spoken dialogue.  In silent films the dialogue is transmitted through body gestures such as hand motions.  The classical Hollywood cinema is defined as a film which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s (Monaco).  New Hollywood refers to the time between the late-1960s and early 1980s when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence in America and influenced the types of films that were produced by their production and marketing values (Cox).  New Hollywood is also called the Hollywood Renaissance because it changed the way major studios approached filmmaking.  The contemporary period, which is the current period we are in began in the 1980s, is known for the development of blockbuster franchises, large scale marketing campaigns, and an increasing emphasis on special effects.

When it comes to Hollywood films one of the biggest factors that can make or break a film are the reviews it receives by film critics.  Positive film reviews especially have a big effect on independent films with smaller marketing budgets, an example is The Hurt Locker the film would never have been as successful if it was not for the positive reviews they received.  However, a bad review can do just the opposite and turn the film into a box office disaster.  Eddie Lew, a journalist for the New York Times, recently stated that “critics should wait until a show’s official opening before they delivered their verdict in a review.”  By doing so it gives the film a chance to do good in the box office before a review ruins the movie, plus it also gives a chance for the movie critic to see the film multiple times which allows him to write a more fair evaluated review.

Bibliography

Cox, Gordon. "Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood." Daily Variety 17 May 2010, Sec. 3. Print.

Lew, Eddie. "What's Fair is Fair, Unless It's Not." New York Times [New York City] 7 January 2011, n. page. Print.

Monaco, Paul. “A History of American Movies a Film-by-Film Look at the Art, Craft, and Business of Cinema.” Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010.

Abrams' Tribute to Spielberg

Super 8

            J.J. Abrams worked his magic again, as Super 8 was a box office hit and one of the best movies of the 2011 summer.  The mystery-thriller gives you a chance to relive the classic movies such as ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Many critics have been calling Super 8 a tribute to Steven Spielberg. 

            In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a movie on there super 8 camera.  The 5 kids were the only people to witness and discover that the crash was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and unexplainable events begin to take place in town.  With the sheriff gone it’s up to the local Deputy to try and uncover the truth, which turns out to be something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

            The young casts of actors are outstanding in the film.  The film also delivers stunning visual effects which helps add to the magic. 

The Call

Many times in sports coaches learn from one another; whether it’s by taking plays, a strategy, or even what it takes to be great.  J.J. Abrams Super 8 is just that, by learning from Spielberg, Abrams is able to mimic Spielberg’s early work to help him create a nail-biting mystery-thriller!  Super 8 is the most intensely Spielbergian film you'll ever see that Steven Spielberg didn't actually direct himself. 

Halloween Pick: Paranormal Activity 3

If you want a nice scare before Halloween, which is only a few days away, I suggest you go to the movie theater and see Paranormal Activity 3.

The newest installment to the Paranormal Activity franchise is a prequel to the previous two films.  It’s focused on the two girls Katie and Kristy as little kids and shows the start of this demonic ghost attacking and tormenting there lives.

Much like the two films before it this one uses the same technique in how it is shown as a home made video through different camera’s set up around the house.

This film sets itself apart from the previous two in that it is not as suspenseful as the two before it but instead more action packed. This demon doesn’t take long to attacking the home owners and creating havoc. 

I think it’s safe to say that Paranormal Activity 3 has the most likable cast which delivers some pretty honest laughs.

The ending of the movie is by far the craziest and most intense of the three films. 

It will have the entire theater at the edge of there seats yelling and screaming.

Paranormal Activity 3 did its job.  It’ll make you jump and be terrified, so try not to cover your eyes and let Paranormal Activity 3 start your Halloween on the right foot.   

Top 25 Best Sports Movies

Since I’m continuously giving my opinion, I decided to switch it up on this post and show you someone else’s perspective. 

After spending some time surfing the web I came to the agreement that this is the best site with the movies and rankings I agree with most.

http://movies.ign.com/articles/665/665513p1.html

Avatar vs. Pocahontas

The Situation

James Cameroon always takes awhile to come out with a new movie, the best picture nominee Avatar was the first movie he directed since Titanic.  While many people love and praise the movie, I honestly see nothing special about it besides the advancement in movie technology used in Avatar.  The plot is nothing new, which makes it surprising that it took Cameroon nearly ten years to complete, considering its a complete knockoff of Disney’s Pocahontas.  It appears that Bill Belichick isn’t the only one getting idea’s by studying other people’s film.

The Play by Play

Pocahontas:  In 1607, a ship carrying John Smith arrives at the “new world” North America.

Avatar:  In 2154, a spaceship carrying Jake Sully arrives at the “new world” Pandora.

Pocahontas:  Looking for gold

Avatar:  Looking for unobtanium

Pocahontas:  At first Pocahontas doesn’t like Smith but after a message from her Grandmother Willow her feelings towards him change.

Avatar:  At first Neytiri doesn’t like Sully, but after a message from the “tree of souls" her feelings towards him change.

Pocahontas:  Pocahontas shows Smith that life is very valuable and how nature is all connect.  She also teaches him about her culture, how to hunt, and how to grow crops.

Avatar:  Neytiri shows Sully how everything on the planet of Pandora is connect.  She also teaches him about her culture, how to hunt, and how to fly mythical birds.

Pocahontas:  Smith and Pocahontas fall in love, but when Smith’s settlers start to attack the Native Americans, the Native Americans blame Smith and sentence him to death.

Avatar:  Sully and Neytiri fall in love, but when Sully’s settlers start to attack the Na’vi, the Na’vi blames Sully   and tries to kill him.

Pocahontas:  Pocahontas risks her life to save Smith and the two cultures resolve there differences.

Avatar:  Neytiri risks her life to save Sully and the two cultures resolve there differences.

Here’s a solid clip from YouTube that helps show that there exactly the same movie

Major League

Its October ladies and gentlemen and you know what that means…. MLB playoffs are off and running.  Since my beloved Phillies are still alive I decided to dedicate this blog to an oldie but a goodie, classic baseball movie. 

Major League (1989) focuses on the Cleveland Indians baseball team.  When Rachel Phelps takes over as owner she has major plans to shake up the organization.  She starts to try and build a team that will fail so she can move the organization to Miami.  The new team’s motley crew consists of Billy Ray Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) aka “Wild Thing”, Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes), Cerrano, Jake Taylor, and Roger Dorn.  To everyone’s surprise this team of misfits starts winning games, which makes Phelps to start improvising by making them ride on old broken down buses and limiting there physicality’s.  Once the team is informed about Phelps plan to relocate, they realize there only chance to survive is to win the pennant.  The team then adopts an, us against the world mentality, and leads up to the climax of the movie when the Indians face off against the Yankee’s in a 1 game playoff for the pennant.

This is one of the funniest sport’s comedies around.  The film delivers such classic lines like “jusssst a bit outside,” “To high to high,” “Strike this mother f**ker out,” and “I hit like Mays and run like Hayes.”  The film has a fan pleasing plot with solid baseball acting by Charlie Sheen who actually appears to know how to throw a baseball which is rare in some sports movies.  This timeless underdog baseball film has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.  So get in the mood for this years MLB playoffs by watching a classic and one of the best baseball films around, Major League

X-Men: First Class

Play by Play

X-Men First Class was one of the most explosive and entertaining flicks of this past summer.  The fifth installment in the X-Men movie franchise was with out a doubt the best one yet.  With better actors and a stronger plot helps breathe new life into the X-Men franchise.  The movie takes a different angle then the previous ones as the audience gets to see the beginning of the group of mutants called the X-Men and the start of the relationship between Professor X and Magneto.  When the U.S. is in its toughest time during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, they call on the newly discovered Mutants to form a team led by Magneto and Professor X to help the U.S. out.  The movie helps show you how Professor X and Magneto got there start and how there once friendship has now turned into constant fights against each other in the other movies.  The movie has jaw dropping action scenes that will have you at the edge of your seat.  By the end of the movie you will not only have a new view of Magneto but you will be standing up cheering for him. 

My Call

X-Men First Class hit the shelves last week and my suggestion for X-Men and Superhero fans is to run to the local movie store and snag your copy of it to watch. 

My Top Trilogies

A good film trilogy is hard to come by, like a majority of trilogies they start off strong with the first movie then over the next two films lose its touch.  I understand it’s difficult to make a top of the line trilogy, just like in professional sports where you rarely see team’s 3-peat.  It’s one of the hardest things to do in sports because players get older after each year and lose there touch, just like in movies, viewers get tired of seeing the same character doing the same thing over and over again. 

I’ve decided to blog about MY top 5 trilogies in my opinion.  It wouldn’t be fair to say the best 5 trilogies of all time considering I haven’t seen The Godfather which many people consider a top 5 trilogy.  I’m also excluding movies that have more than 3 films such as Indiana Jones, Scream, and Die Hard.  I will however be including Star Wars because I, like most people, consider them 2 separate trilogies.  One last note before I get started I expect this list to change once the new Dark Knight movie comes out, which could possible become my top trilogy of all time.

V.  Ocean’s 11

Three pretty solid movies with the original obviously being the best.  The star studded cast works great together doing, who wouldn’t want to be a member of Danny Oceans gang?  All they do is joke around have a good time and then rob a casino for millions.  The movies all have solid plot lines with good twist and turns throughout which makes them very enjoyable to watch.

IV. Star Wars (the original)

The original Star Wars trilogy changed film making and grabbed the attention of a generation.  The sequel delivered one of the biggest twists in movie history when Darth Vader tells Luke he’s his father.  It has great action and battle scenes, not to mention Han Solo who is the best character in the Star Wars films.

III. Back to the Future

The first movie is one of my favorite movies of all time.  All 3 are very enjoyable to watch with so many great lines to quote I don’t know which one to pick.  Anyone who’s a Back to the Future fan is probably as excited as I am that we only have to wait 4 more years for flying cars.

II. Bourne

The Bourne Identity started what would become an action packed kick-ass trilogy with Matt Damon.  All three movies have a great story line and takes hand to hand combat fighting to a whole new level.  It could argue that each movie is better than the one before it which is very rare to find.  I also find these movies way more entertaining and superior than Bond films.

I.                  Lord of the Rings

I’m sure man critics will agree with me when I say the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the best trilogy ever.  It’s hard to point out anything that’s wrong in any of the 3 movies.  The battle scenes are so intense plus the way its shot sets it apart from any other movie.  They couldn’t have gotten better actors to go along with this amazing plot.

Drive

"Drive" hit theaters this past Friday and took audiences around the US along for the ride of a lifetime.  The movie stars Ryan Gosling who plays a Los Angeles stunt driver for movies by day and getaway driver for criminals at night.  Gosling starts to fall in love for his neighbor Irene across the hall, whose background is one haunted by her ex-husband.  When the ex-husband shows up and needs money to help pay off a kingpin or else his wife and son will be in danger, Gosling offers his driving services to help him pull off a heist to pay off his debt and protect his new love interest Irene.  They movie than heats up when the heist goes bad and Gosling is forced to go on the run and protect Irene and himself from criminals who are out to kill them.  Once Gosling realizes he can’t run forever he stops playing defensively and instead starts playing offense by going after the mobsters himself.

Drive is a pedal to the metal movie unlike anything else.  It’s a stylish film that can fit into so many different categories; thriller, romance, and a heist film.  The up and coming star actor, Gosling, gives an academy award winning performance.  The movie is quite the adrenaline rush that at times can get pretty graphic and bloody. 

The Call

It's a must see! So if you think you can handle the rush, jump on in and buckle up.

Super Hero Movies Starting Lineup

Due to my recent interest in super-hero movies I’ve to create an all-star team lineup of the top 5 superheros in movies.  There has been a rise as of lately in superhero movies so I’ve decided to break down the top 5 movies in the best decade.  I will also take a bit of an interesting approach relate them to what position they would play on my all-star basketball team.

Point Guard: Peter Parker (Spiderman)

Movie: People have falling back in love with Spiderman after the latest trilogy.  What makes the movies great is they present Peter as just an everyday kid who’s very common.  Not only that but the movies show the struggles of a kid struggling in school and at home which people can relate to. 
Basketball Player Steve Nash: Spiderman reminds me of Nash because both are small and don’t look intimidating at all, but once you’re matched up with them you realize you’re in trouble.  Both are quick as hell and like spidey senses Nash has great court vision and see’s things happening before anyone else.

Shooting Guard: Bruce Wayne (Batman)

Movie: The new Batman movies have everyone begging for more, they can’t get enough of him.  They are by far the best Superhero movies out today and have everyone in great anticipation for the 3^rd and final installment.  The Movies so Batman as a broken man who rises to the top and uses his money to help him fight a never ending battle of keeping Gotham City safe.  IMO the movies have done a lot better than older one’s because Robin isn’t in them.
Basketball Player Kobe Bryant: They have both worked as hard as anybody you’ll find to be the best they can be at what they do.  Kobe is somewhat of a one man show much like Batman who doesn’t like help from anyone else, they get things down on there own and are winners.  No matter what they accomplish or who they take down, both are always never satisfied.

Small Forward: Wolverine

Movie: The newest X-Men movies have all been pretty solid and a major reason why is because people flat out love Wolverine.  He’s ruthless which is what makes him so appealing; he does what needs to be done and plays by his own rules.  Wolverine is basically an immortal considering he heals from anything, but he has suffered so much in his life and seen loved one’s lost that it helps the audience feel from him and root for him.
Basketball Player Dwayne Wade: They are both lightening fast and much like Wolverine who attacks like an animal Wade attacks the rim as hard as anyone.  Both are also fearless and don’t back down from anyone.

Forward: Tony Stark (Ironman)

Movie: Along with the new Batman movies, Ironman’s stock has gone up drastically after two movies that fans loved.  Ironman is such an appealing superhero because he doesn’t have any superpowers, but rather created his own by using his money and intelligence.  People enjoy the ironman movies because it’s a rich young party animal that loves to have a good time and also makes the world safer.
Basketball Player:  Although he may be undersized, Ironman’s suit gives him strength that goes unmatched.  No one would be able to handle him down low.  Much like LeBron James, his strength and quickness sets him apart from the rest just like Ironman.

Center: Clark Kent (Superman)

Movie: The latest Superhero movie was good enough to put him on the team.  It had him going up against Lex Luther who is arguably the best evil-villain Superman faces.  People love the movies, because everyone wants to be Superman, who wouldn’t want to fly or lift entire buildings over there head.
Basketball Player Dwight Howard: There both known as “men of steel” there as strong as they come and dominate all opponents they face.  Just like Superman, Howard flies through the air to dunk and get rebounds.  Although they seem utterly unstoppable both have flaws Superman’s is kryptonite and Howard can’t make a foul shot.

MVP for Best Director

This week I decided to give out my MVP award for best writer/director.  If you look at the past decade the award has to go to Christopher Nolan, the British American director has comes out with some of the most unique and captivating movies over and over again. 

Memento (2000) - A psychological thriller like none before it.  The movie starts at the end and goes back 5 minutes at a time that leads up to an ending or beginning (depending on how you look at it) that leaves you stunned.  Nolan added great depth to the film by having scenes in black and white as well has color scenes too.  Memento earned Nolan 2 Academy Award Nominations.

Batman Begins (2005) - Nolan reinvented the Batman franchise and gave batman fans something actually worth watching.  After a series of failed batman movies the last one with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was hard to watch it was so bad.  Nolan took a new approach to Gotham City and Bruce Wayne in a way that you could actually feel for both the city and him.  The sequel The Dark Knight (2008) was one of the biggest movies of the year, and really put Nolan on the Map.  Health Ledger as the Joker stole the show and gave perhaps the best evil villain performance in a super-hero movie.  Nolan’s Dark Knight is one of the 10 highest grossing films of all time.  The two Movies combined have earned him 9 Academy Award Nominations.

Inception (2010) - Nolan wrote, directed, and produced the movie of the decade that will go down in history as one of the greatest films of all time.  The movie is so unique and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before that I saw it in theaters 4 times and sure as hell was at the store to buy it the first day if came out.  Nolan sends the audience on a thrill ride of a life time the last hour of the movie is incredibly intense and ends with you leaving exhausted from being so emotionally involved in the movie.  Nolan also leaves you with an ending that you will debate with your friends for the rest of your life.

Christopher Nolan is the best director in the 21^st century with all his movies being so unique and different but leaves you wanting more.  Every movie he directors is better then the last.  He has directed 5 of the best movies in the past decade with Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, Dark Knight, and Inception.  Nolan has everyone at the edge of there seat for his newest project and conclusion to the Batman trilogy.  The Dark Knight rises is one of the most anticipated films of the year and I can count of Nolan to come through with another Best Picture winner.  

Fast and the Furious: Steals more then just cars

The Situation

For anyone whose every seen the movie Point Break (1991) and wanted a remake got one in 2001 with Fast and Furious.  If you've seen both movies its clearly obvious that Fast and Furious is a ripoff of Point Break.  When you start to break down the two movies its hard to find anything that is different between them.  Lets break it down.

Evidence

Both have questionable actors as the main lead: Paul Walker plays undercover cop Brian O'Connor while Keanu Reeves plays undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah.

Going Undercover: In BP Utah goes undercover as a surfer to try and find out who the bank robbers known as the Presidents are. While in FF O'Connor goes undercover as a street racer to find out who a group of people hijacking cars are.

Getting in the Gang:  In BP Utah has a tough first encounter on the beach with Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) the leader of the Presidents, however Bodhi see's something in Utah that he likes and invites him to start hanging with his crew.  In FF O'Connor has tough first run in with Dom (Vin Diesel) head of the gang who hijacks trucks, but O'Connor eventually earns Dom's trust and Dom allows him to enter in the gang.

Love Interest:  Both Utah and O'Connor's love interest have involvement with the gang.

Job Gone Bad:  In BP once the gang finds out Utah is undercover they kidnap him and make him go on a bank robbery with them, which ends up going bad and the youngest gang member dies. In FF there job of hijacking a car goes wrong and the youngest gang member dies, once Dom finds out O'Connor is undercover he flips out and beats the shit out of him.

Letting Them Go:  In BP Utah finds Bodhi in Australia after he escaped from the FBI, instead of bringing Bodhi into the police he lets him swim out to the ocean for one last surf during the "fifty year storm."  In FF O'Connor has Dom captured with the police on the way but instead lets him drive off in his car and escape.

 The Call

It becomes evident throughout the movie that Fast and Furious steals the plot of Point Break and just changed it to a new scenario.