Worst of 2009

Pretty self-explanatory. And I am going to try shorten it up a little bit. So without further adieu, here are the worst:

PAUL BLART: MALL COP- This was obviously geared for kids, hence its G rating, but come on. There was nothing funny about this movie. Not even the kids that were there with laughing. With Kevin James at the helm, I really expected something more.


FIRED UP- I seriously don't know why I saw this. I wasn't expecting much from it. At least it didn't disappoint me. The title of the movie is kid of ironic, because that's probably what most people were after seeing this. Not in the good way either.


WATCHMEN- Sorry to everyone out that loves this movie, but I hated Watchmen. This beginning to the movie was so incredibly boring that I almost lost all interest in finishing the movie out. I don't know why I finished it, because it still was really crappy. Probably one of the biggest disappointments of 20009.


OBSERVE AND REPORT- This feels like evidence to me that Seth Rogen is getting less and less funny, although he did redeem himself in 'Funny People'. I literally can not think of anything to say about this movie, because nothing comes to mind that is worthwhile of saying.


DANCE FLICK- Expectations were pretty low going into this one, knowing that this was a spoof movie. But the jokes were really bad; corny, cheap, just really, REALLY bad. I hope that these spoofs can eventually get their act together, because a really well done one can really be a bright spot in theatres.


NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE AT THE SMITHSONIAN- I don't care how creative you are with your charcters and how many big time actors you can get to work for you, if you don't have a good script, your movie will suck. I could tell what was going to happen in the end, within the first 20 minutes of the movie. What fun is that when watching this? Amy Adams was really good as Amelia Earhart, but nothing else was good about this sequel.


LAND OF THE LOST- Runner up for biggest disappointment. I hadn't seen a lot of Will Ferrell in 2009, so I was hoping for something good from him. At times, this movie was as funny as advertised, but when it wasn't, the movie stunk. There was much room for improvement, and hopefully they saw that so something like this doesn't happen again.


YEAR ONE- Not that funny. I feel like showing the trailers and TV spots for this movie killed it once it was actually released in theatres. I thought at first that I didn't like it because I had such high hopes for a Jack Black/Michael Cera comedy combo, but when I saw it for a second time, I realized that this couldn't be taken seriously as a movie, because of the horrible job of story telling it had.


BRUNO- This movie was flat out stupid. Don't even get my started on the first five minutes of it. I thought that kind of filmmaking was reserved for the adult section of video stores. I can not believe that the producers let this movie fly. It was just outright offensive, not like 'Borat' where Sacha Baron Cohen's character just played dumb. Huge let down for all the press this movie got.


G-FORCE- This movie makes me laugh at how bad it was. I think that the story was just a stretch itself. There's only so much you can do with secret agent guinea pigs. I'm actually impressed with how much they got out of it. The fact that it was in 3-D didn't help either. I'm sure it was a hit with the kids, but I guarantee you any age group outside of that probably hated it.


SHORTS- Oh no. I don't even know why I'm putting myself through typing about this. Worst movie of 2009. I hated this so much. It was like the director and every member of his cast are pulling a prank on the viewer, making us think that this is an actual movie. Everything about this movie is annoying. If you have kids that are jacked up on sugar, they'll love it, because that's how unfocused and frenetic this movie is. Garbage, in my opinion.


JENNIFER'S BODY- Runner-up to garbage movie of the year. Yeah people went and saw it for Megan Fox, but I hope that when they saw it they saw just an abismal movie. A girl that feasts on men to stay alive? Really? That's what you came up with? Yikes.


2012- The end of the world movie that I'm sure nobody was anticipating. What's that? They've made like 5 of these movies before? About end of the world events? This one will be better, right? At 158 minutes, 130 of them being pure action and destruction, this would probably be the biggest waste of your money you could spend on a movie in 2009.

Best of 2009

Although it is almost time to ring in the bell for the new year, I'd like to take a moment and look back to what has happened in the movies over this last year. There have been some duds (we'll get to that a little later), but there have also been some very bright spots. I'd like to dedicate this article to those movies that stood above the rest. Disclaimer: these are only selected from the list of movies that I have seen the whole way through, there are handfuls of hidden gems that could be discussed. Nevertheless, here is the list, in no particular order, for best movies of 2009.

SIN NOMBRE- This is the story of two very different paths crossing, but striving for the same goal. On one path is a honduran teenage girl named Sayra. Sayra and her family are taking the opportunity while it lasts to essentially 'train-hop' to the United States. On her journey she comes across El Casper, a member of the MS-13 gang. He has realized how violent his lifestyle has become, and he is looking for a way out. This doesn't make the gang happy, so they decide to kill him for leaving. Now Sayra and El Casper are running away from their old lives and hoping to reach their dream. The United States and a brand new start.


GOODBYE SOLO-This is the story of two unlikely people meeting, and how it changes both their lives forever. It is also the story of one man's life winding up, while one's is just starting. A newly immigrated man from Senegal, named Solo, gets a job as a cab driver. One of his passengers, William, asks Solo to take him up to a very specific mountain and to not pick him up. Solo then takes it upon himself to find out why, and the journey that these two men end up taking is one that could be celebrated during Oscar season.


STAR TREK- The first 'blockbuster' of the year, 'Star Trek' was down right awesome. The ever-so-familiar story of Captain Kirk and Spock and the rest of the crew is rewound all the way to the very beginnning of their reign. Led by newcomers Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, this will surely set up a new Star Trek dynasty, and bring in a whole new generation just like the last ones did.


RUDO Y CURSI- This is the story of two brothers experiencing the dream of professional soccer in Mexico together at the same time. They both go through their trials and tribulations, and their careers eventually are on the line due to their shortcomings. If you don't mind reading subtitles the whole time, then this is a must see.


THE HANGOVER- This was the biggest hit of the summer. A hilarious comedy about having one hell of a night in Vegas in celebration of a bachelor party, and then not remembering one thing the next day; all on top of losing the groom in the course of the night/morning. A really funny twist on the mystery genre. If you have not seen this movie yet, do it immediately.


THE HURT LOCKER- Hands down my favorite movie of the year. This is the most tense and on-edge you will ever feel at a movie. A story about the difficulties and stresses of being on a bomb-defusing unit out in Iraq, this movie is flawless in almost every single way, and will surely need a few hands to hold all the Oscars it could recieve.


(500) DAYS OF SUMMER- The best romantic comedy in the last five years. It is so fresh in the way the story is told, that it is an automatic easy-to-watch film. The chemistry between leads Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will have you trying to relate this to any past relationships you've had, thus proving that this is one of the more authentic and refreshing comedies in a while.


THE COVE- This thrilling documentary about to secretive killing of dolphins in Japan will surely bring a few Oscars home. The thing that is most fun to watch in this film is that the film crew wasn't allowed to get their shots the way they wanted, so they had to do everything secretly; whether it be hidden cameras in trees or underwater, or shooting things at ridculous hours in the morning just to have something substantial. The results of what they ended up getting are incredible and shocking.


ZOMBIELAND- You can thank lead actor Jessee Eisenberg for getting this one on the list. It's not a tremendous movie by any means, but his comedic timing had me laughing throughout. Also, something about swarming zombies and an amusement park in the final act just worked for me.


PRECIOUS- Wow. This movie was phenominal. Held together by very strong acting, this movie (based on the novel by Sapphire) will have you holding back tears for longer than you could imagine. You will not be more touched by a movie this year.


FANTASTIC MR. FOX-Shot in stop-motion animation, this quick-witted, hilarious, and creative comedy will be a hit with every generation. Voiced by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray, 'Mr. Fox' will be one that you'll have to look for on DVD.


UP IN THE AIR- Never have I watched a movie that was more relevant to the times we are in than this one. Lead by George Clooney, this movie about recession and how people deal with losing jobs in tough times is very well choreographed by director Jason Reitman. It went along pretty slowly, but I enjoyed every minute I had my eyes on that screen.


INVICTUS- If you are looking for that pick-me-up or that inspirational boost, this is the movie to see. A true story about the presidency of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and his relationship with national rugby team, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon deliver and then some on this sure to be Oscar winner.


AVATAR- This is undoubtedly the most hyped up movie of the year. Directed by James Cameron, who won an Oscar for 'Titanic', and hasn't made a movie until this one, delivers on every level. The movie is highly regarded for it's visual effects, which are absolutely incredible. However, the story itself holds its ground, all in all making a very wortwhile movie; one that everyone that loves movies should go out and see.

Invictus

As of December 11th, viewers have been able to see the movie that may take home a handful of Oscars, 'Invictus'. This is the story of two people bring others together. The first story is of Nelson Mandela and his time as President of South Africa. Up until this point in his life, Mandela was imprisoned for about 30 years, because of his anti-apartheid stance. As they show in the movie, Mandela's cell had a single wooden chair in the middle of the room, with a blanket and possibly a thin cot on the floor, accompanied with a pillow. Think about that. 30 years of that kind of life? How he endured it I don't know.

Anyways, after his release on February 11, 1990 he decided to run for President of South Africa. On May 10, 1994, with 62 percent of the vote, Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. Obviously this wasn't warmly recieved by everyone, because there was a ton of racial tension still amgongst the South Africans. Mandela preached that reconciliation would be the necessary step to uniting the country again. The other story of reconciliation is with the South African rugby team, the Springboks. They are in a current slump, much to the shagrin of the country. Racial seperation is shown in their first match the viewer sees, when a man explains to Mandela that the whites are cheering for the Springboks, while the blacks are cheering for England. The reason why they don't cheer for their Springboks, is because it reminds them of the Apartheid and all that happened to them during that time. Mandela than gets news that the Rugby World Cup, hosted in South Africa, is only a year away. He then sends out an invitation for the captain of the Springboks, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to have tea with him. During their meeting, a message is given to Damon that he will have to rally the Springboks, and win over the black portion of South Africa, thus uniting the nation behind their World Cup run.

This is one of the more inspiring movies I've seen in a while. Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Pienaar will probably be heavy favorites for Best Actor and Supporting Actor respectively. To me this movie shows what the human spirit is capable of. Not many people, after being in prison for 30 years, would do what Mandela did. He did not show any anger, but yet compassion for the same people that threw him in jail. So, if you're looking for that pick-me-up during this dreary winter session, go out and see this; you can't help but feel good after it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Ovkye6lac

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Those of you who are fans of the Cartoon Network show 'Robot Chicken' are probably familiar with the stop-motion technique of animation. What stop-motion does in animation is that it takes a physically manipulated object, and makes it appear as if it is moving on it's own. The object is moved slowly in a frame-by-frame sequence, giving it the illusion that the object is actually moving by itself. Clay figures are usually used to do this, because they can be easily repositioned. So why am I telling you all of this? Because 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' is one hundred percent stop-motion animation. The difference between this film and most of it's kind is that they used animals, not just clay figures. I seriously thought this was a joke when I saw the trailer for the first time, but the more I read up on it, the more amazed I was at the process. Then, after sitting through a brief 87 minutes of this new animation, I was astounded. It was awesome.


Lead by Academy Award winners George Clooney and Meryl Streep, 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' is about battle between good and evil, good being represented by Mr. Fox and company, and bad being represented by the three bad farmers: Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. It starts with Felicity (Mrs. Fox) telling her husband that she is pregnant and wants them to stop robbing farmers of their produce and instead get real jobs. When Mr. Fox realizes that he doesn't have a whole lot of 'fox years' left, he makes a bold move and moves into a house in a tree. This is not a wise move according to his lawyer, Badger (Bill Murray), because it is right across the field from the three farmers' respective houses. Two years go by and nothing really is keeping Fox's interest anymore, so he decides to go and rob each of the farmer's house of produce, whether it be duck, chicken, or alocholic cider. Once the farmers find out what Fox has done, they plan an attack on him. Their first attempt fails, but it sends the message. Now Fox and his family are stuck, with nowhere really to go. The following sequence of events all work well together and turn out to make a pretty watchable wild goose chase.


This movie may be a little rough on the eyes, because of the choppiness of stop-motion, but it's so revolutionary that it didn't even matter. I personally would never expect to see a movie made like this because it seems like such a foolish way to be shot, but I was wrong. It's incredible. This adaptation of the popular children's book of the same name is a crowd-pleaser; child, teen, or adult. There's something to be said about how different people's visions can be when they make a movie, but when it is this enjoyable, it doesn't really matter how you make it.


Rating: 3 out of 4 stars
Trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2igjYFojUo

Up in the Air

As the poster above implies, this is the third big time film for director Jason Reitman. He is known for his work in 'Juno' and 'Thank You For Smoking'. He has also directed episodes of 'The Office' and 'Saturday Night Live'. In all of his work that I've seen, there's definitely been that indie feel to everything involved in the movie. He has never had the big star under his direction, which probably has been key in his early success. Now, however, he had the opportunity to direct George Clooney. I was a bit worried when I had heard this because I thought that Reitman was going to pull strongly for whatever he wanted, and in the end, would have made this a dud. This does not have that indie feel to it at all; and in fact, it actually turned out to be a very interesting movie, worthy of all the Oscar buzz.

'Up in the Air' is about a traveling man named Ryan Bingham, played by Clooney. What Ryan does for a living is pretty brutal. He has to fly around the country and lay off different employees from different workplaces for the bosses who are too cowardly to do it themselves. He also from time to time will give motivational speeches about having a relationship-free life, using a backpack as an analogy. This seems like a terrible job to have, but Ryan actually enjoys what he does. He loves the fact that he is pretty much anonymous during his traveling, which is why he has never really kept close to his family and does not have much of a personal life. Because of all the flying that he is doing, he is also close to acheiving a personal goal of his: ten million frequent flyer miles (only six others have done this). During one of his stops, he meets a woman named Alex, who describes herself to Ryan as, "like you but with a vagina". They then decide to pursue a casual relationship, seeing as how it would be too difficult and unecessary to start a legitimate one. When Ryan is grounded for a few days out of the year, he learns from his boss (played by Jason Bateman) that they are developing a new way of letting people go, this time via webcam. It is being developed by a fresh out of college grad, named Natalie Keener. Bingham and her immediately clash, leading Bateman's character to force Bingham to bring Natalie on his next stint in the air. While on their trip together, Natalie learns the ins-and-outs of the interpersonal side of the job, while Bingham is being challenged as to why he chooses his relationship-free lifestyle. They both begin to realize the disheartening parts of their issues at hand, and they eventually have to figure out what they want out of their new lives.

There is something that fascinates me with this film. It is so 'real'. It is one hundred percent believable. It is especially relevant with the times we are currently in. People probably have been laid off in a similar way to this recently. I also think that this can raise the question of what life would be like if you chose to isolate yourself from everyone. It makes you think about where you are at whatever point of your life you are in. A very thought provoking and honest film, but it being a smidge slow at times keeps it from the perfect score. But look for this to do some serious damage come Oscar time.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m-Da8Tz4_E

Avatar

This all started way back in 1994, when director James Cameron wrote an 114 page script for this film. 15 years ago, Tanya Harding was in the spotlight for her infamous attack on Nancy Kerrigan during the Olympics. This is back when Forrest Gump was recieving an Oscar for Best Picture. This is a serious gap in time. It was officially announced in 1997 that Cameron was going to make 'Avatar', just after raking in multiple Oscars for his most recent film, 'Titanic'. Unfortunately, the technology Cameron had hoped for wasn't available until roughly 2007. I am very glad that he waited, because what he has made will be talked about for years to come.

This film takes place in the year 2154 on an Earth-sized moon named Pandora. The RDA corporation is there because they are interested in mining a rare mineral, called unobtanium. However, there are many obstacles facing the crew. The humans can not breathe on Pandora. Therefore, they have to create these genetic hybrids between humans and the natives, called the Na'vi. These hybrids are called avatars. These avatars are controlled by humans, who stay in the lab and lay in these pods that basically look like tanning beds. The people controlling the avatars are called 'drivers'. The three we meet are Jake, Norm, and Dr. Augustine. Jake, played by Sam Worthington is a ex-marine who lost the use of his legs in battle. His twin brother was initially supposed to be on this mission, but because of his untimely death, Jake was asked to participate. The goal of these 'drivers' are to become friendly with the Na'vi, in hopes to be able to convince them to move away from their current location, so the military can recieve the unobtanium. On their first night out, Jake gets left behind after running away from what looks like a hammerhead rhino. When Jake is roaming around trying to survive the night, he comes across little tiny dog-like creatures, called viperwolves. They surround him and then attack. Lucky for Jake, a native names Neytiri comes to his rescue. He is thankful for her help, but she is upset with him because of his abuse of the animals. He is curious as to why she is so upset at him, so he begins to follow her when she takes off. He is then captured by the other natives, who are not very fond of Jake and his fake avatars, also known as 'sky people'. After a decision to spare his life, the Na'vi assign Neytiri to show Jake the way of their people, whether it be sleeping in a leafy cocoon, taming a flying banshee, or learning the language of the Na'vi. Jake then has to return to his human body while his avatar self is asleep, and thus begins the seperation between the two sides. Jake realizes that the humans are being absolutely outlandish in their quest and, as he grows closer and closer with the Na'vi, begins to rebel against his own race. He then must decide which is more important to him, and thus begins another big battle between humans and nature.

Although the dialogue at times is really dull, this movie has to be seen for it's special effects. It is like nothing you could ever imagine. You can't imagine it because you have not seen anything like this. I have seen this movie twice, and both times I have been absolutely blown away by what I see. I have heard criticism that this movie is all special effects and no plot, but that is simply untrue. The dialogue is a bit lacking, but the plot very much holds it's own. There is so much going on in this movie that it actually becomes very difficult to sum it all up in a review like this. All I can really say is that you should go see this movie, because the experience you'll have will be one worth well beyond what you pay for the movie (the prices for 2-D and 3-D vary.)

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

Trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ceBgWV8io

Best Christmas Movies

Because we won't be around to write an article during the holiday season, we figured we would give you a list of some of the best movies of the season. These are in no particular order, because to us, it was way too hard to pick a favorite. Also, we had a deadline to meet. So here goes.

A Christmas Story (1983)- A story about a kid named Ralphie Parker, and his dream to get a Red Ryder BB gun. He has to overcome all the obstacles leading up to Christmas, including everyone telling him that the gun will make him 'shoot his eye out'. A instant holiday classic and a must see every year.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)- Desperate to find a new department santa, Macy's executive Doris sets hires a man named Kris Kringle. Kris is insistent that he actually is Santa, but Doris and her daughter, among others are skeptic. Is he the real santa? Kris tries to prove himeself to be the real Santa in this unforgettable film.

Home Alone (1990)- Who hasn't seen this classic movie? Left at home by his whole family, Kevin McCallister tries to survive boredom, robbers, and the terrifying pigeon lady and shovel guy. Oh, and how could i forget, the single most horrifying furnace in any household imaginable.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)- Probably a favorite amongst most, A Charlie Brown Christmas takes us through the struggles of Charlie's attempt to run a Christmas pageant, and shows us in the end what the real meaning of Christmas is.

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)- An oldie but a goodie, "It's a Wonderful Life" is a story of a magnanimous business who fights against the power of greed. It's also a story about a man George, who gives up all of his dreams for the good of his town. An absolutely perfect movie for this time of the year.

Elf (2003)- A smash hit for the current generation. "Elf" is about an elf named Buddy, fresh off a trip from the North Pole to New York City, trying to fit in to his new lifestyle. Althought everything around hims is changing rapidly, Buddy never changed who he is, and eventually convinces the city, who is down on their 'Christmas spirit', to believe again.

The Blindside

I'm just going to put this out there right away, "The Blindside" is the feel-good movie of 2009. Based off of the book by Michael Lewis, it is the incredible true story of Michael Oher, Baltimore Raven and the 23rd overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft.

"Blindside" begins by discussing the importance of the left-tackle in the NFL because of what Lawrence Taylor's crushing hits to the blindside of the quarterback during the 1980s (even showing the infamous snapping of Joe Theismann's leg). It continues to chronicle Oher's journey from the streets to the gridiron. Being a repeat runaway from a foster home he had seen and experienced things that most kids should never had to go to through. But because of his great size and big heart. He was a perfect candidate to become the protector of the blindside. Oher becomes adopted by a family of Ole' Miss alums (played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) who later adopt him. His family pushes him to improve his grades, realizing that Michael could seeing some bright lights coming his way from NCAA schools. It is quite the journey of hope, faith, and courage as the family adds a big addition and Michael grows into a brother, son, student, and football player.

The "Blindside" is such a uplifting movie, I was nothing but inspired as I left the theater. Sandra Bullock actually blew me away with her performance after boring me with her other work. Tim McGraw, who I didn't even recognize has some impressive acting chops as well. Some people will be a little sick to their stomach over the level of sentiment in this movie, but it was well balanced by a great level of humor much from the little brother "SJ". Such an incredible story put into a well made movie. Look for Michael Oher on Sundays (#74 for the Ravens) as he continues his rookie year. Go see this movie, bring your friends and family. In the Holiday spirit, "The Blindside" will only make you appreciate life and its surprises even more.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 Stars

Trailer

Movie Midterms

For this week, we decided to do something a little different. There will be no reviews whatsoever for this week. Instead, we will be predicting. It is roughly half-way to the 2010 Academy Awards, so we figured that we would pull out our crystal ball and try to predict the nominees and winners for the awards. The only catch is that we are only doing movies up to now, so there is much room for change. Nevertheless, here are our nominees and predictions:

BEST ACTOR:

Jamie Foxx, The Soloist

Johnny Depp, Public Enemies

Matt Damon, The Informant

Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Brad Pitt, Inglourious Basterds

TR: Jamie Foxx- Again he blows away the pack with another character of another level, from Ray Charles, to mentally challenged homeless musician, to the musical artist filling your airwaves with "Blame It," Foxx is one successful and talented dude.

EB: Jeremy Renner-Although he's a relatively unknown actor, when I was watching him play Sgt. James in this film, I couldn't help but actually believe that he was this character. Incredible job.

BEST ACTRESS:

Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

Hillary Swank, Amelia

Rachel McAdams, The Time Traveler's Wife

Abigail Breslin, My Sister's Keeper

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

EB: Gabourey Sidibe. I have never felt so much for a character in a movie. She captures every single emotion so perfectly that this becomes a no-brainer to me.

TR: Rachel McAdams. Just cause I want to marry her and she's endlessly talented.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Michael Mann, Public Enemies

Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are

TR: Spike Jonze. In no way do I expect him to be nominated but something about how this movie was directed made it one of the weirdest movies ever while being front to back enjoyable.

EB: Kathryn Bigelow. Again with the Hurt Locker pick, I think that Bigelow just gets the whole tension and caution of a bomb defusing squad absolutely perfect.

BEST PICTURE:

The Hurt Locker

Precious

Sin Nombre

Star Trek

Public Enemies

Disctrict 9

Up

Goodbye Solo

EB: Surprise, surprise, I'm picking The Hurt Locker. I have never been more on the edge of my seat during a movie. This movie is perfect. Enough said.

TR: I've got to go with Public Enemies, it doesn't seem like the sexy pick but as of right now I am yet to be blown away by something better. Johnny Depp does a great job in a role outside of his whacky Tim Burton plots. Director Michael Mann, made this gangster film a great night at the movies.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

Up

A Christmas Carol

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

TR: Disney+Pixar= Gold. Up. Hands down. Squirrel!

EB: Up. The best Pixar movie to date. Possibly the most I've laughed at a dog in a movie. Good stuff.

Best Movie You've Never Heard Of: "Once"

Many people have the dream of playing a musical instrument, many have loved and lost, and many still hang on to some faint trace of hope. The 2006 film Once is one of the simplest movies I have seen in years. At 83 minutes total runtime this former winner of the Audience Award of the Sundance Film Festival, Once is a modern-day musical with a fantastic soundtrack without any show stopping numbers.

It is a story of an Irish musician (Glen Hansard) with a broken heart, who fixes "hoovers" by day while playing the streets with his guitar. During one of his numbers he meets a young woman (Marketa Irglova selling roses who enjoys his playing. They become acquainted and she agrees to bring him her hoover the following day. After a cup of coffee they stop in a piano shop and play the entire song "Falling Slowly" (winner of an Oscar for original song) and it is really one of the most enjoyable scenes in any film you can find. The couple soon become very close friends and the man is persuaded to chase his musical dreams and records a demo record so he can move to London and make it big. Along the way they share stories of their life and romantic struggles, making the audience quietly root for the two to get together. The whole story is well played, and there is a lot of great music and first time acting. Nothing is drawn out, and it is 83 minutes of pure artistic simplicity. "Simple" is the single greatest word to describe this movie and it makes it one of the best movies you've never heard of. Check it out.

Rating: 4 of 4 Stars

Also, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova have since been touring around the world as The Swell Season, which will be coming to the State Theater in Minneapolis on December 5th. I have heard from personal accounts from friends that they are one of the best acts to experience in the business and should not be passed up. Otherwise, check out the Once soundtrack and the new album from The Swell Season "Strict Joy" available now.

Trailer

The Swell Season Live

Imagine if there actually was a world where nobody could lie. All the 20 year olds would be enjoying their time at home instead of living the bar scene. There would be a lot more failed relationships because the women would find out that yes, that dress does actually make you look fat. And yes, guys, when your shirt is off 24/7 during the summer, doing so may actually make you look like a tool. Well, in The Invention of Lying, there is a world like that. And having this world as a backdrop to the movie makes for an enjoyable time.

Like I said, the movie is set in an alternate reality where nobody has ever told a lie. Not only do they not lie, but the people living in this reality often tell the entire truth. This is especially tough on Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais, star of Ghost Town and creater of The Office). Mark is a lecture film writer, a very unsuccessful one at that. His movies basically consist of a narrarator sitting on screen, lecturing about historic events. Not only is Mark not succesful, but he is also very unattractive, as he is told by his date in the beginning of the movie Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Gardner). The day after that date, Mark is fired from his job, because his movie about the Black Plague is sparking no interest. Also, when Mark goes to the bank after being fired, he finds that he is short on his rent. He then, for reasons he can not even figure out, tells the first lie, claiming that he has $800, enough to pay the rent. The bank teller, assuming that she made a mistake, gives Mark the money. Mark becomes fascinated with this new found power, and realizing that nobody else can comprehend lying, decides to use it to his advantage. Things begin to go really well for Mark, but when he makes up a lie to his mother about 'a place you go when you die', things begin to backfire on him. He then has to make a decision on whether to use his ability to lie for himself or for the good of everyone else.

Typical of a Gervais movie, there is nothing flashy about this. However, this movie moves swiftly from scene to scene, never really skipping a beat. It's a completely different story that any that I've ever seen, so I was immediately attached to it. There aren't a lot of laugh out loud moments, but instead a repetition of small chuckles, which, if you're in the mood for it, works out well. I guess I was just in the mood for one of these types of movies.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc79ho-PzeE

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are is a classic children's book by Maurice Sendak. I grew up with it as have millions of people across the world. Not going to lie the book terrified me and I hated the pictures of all the grotesque monsters. But hey, I was like 5 years old. When I heard about it being adapted to film I was pretty excited to see it. So on a Friday night I went and faced my fears over the Wild Things.

It is a story about a boy named Max who runs away from his home and goes off to a far off land. There he encounters the Wild Things and to keep them from eating him alive, he convinces them that he has special powers and they then proclaim as king. He promises to group to keep out all the sadness with his special shield and they all become civilized under Max's direction. They build a fort for all of them to live in but eventually things become tense. Max then realizes he is not a king at all, just a young boy who belongs at home with his mother.

Surprisingly this movie was directed by Spike Jonze who is the writer and producer of Jackass. Luckily he was under the guidance by producer Tom Hanks and they really pulled off a great movie. There aren't any familiar faces other than Max's mom (Catherine Keener who starred in 40 Year Old Virgin) because they are only 3 human characters. None of the voice actors are that well-known either, save Forrest Whittacre. He is joined by James Gandolfini, Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine), Catherine O'Hara, Michael Berry Jr., and Chris Cooper plus a raccoon named Richard who was responsible for many of my random laughs through the movie.

As far as children's movies go, I wouldn't take anyone under the age of 8 to it. It's not as simple as a 50 page children's book would suggest. I have the feeling that watching this when I was 5 would of made me even more terrified. But as a 20 year old, I was highly entertained the whole time. Its very uniquely played out and honestly it was pretty abnormal... But beyond its peculiarity, I enjoyed it entirely. I was highly amused by the whole thing and I laughed a lot. Finally, I can say that I am no longer afraid of Where the Wild Things Are-- there's one in all of us.

Rating: 3 of 4 Stars.

One on One With Joe Gow

I had the chance to sit down for a one on one interview with our Chancellor to find out more about himself and his hopes for the university in the future as it celebrates its Centennial. We talked about many things and hopefully you all will get to know Joe Gow a little bit better by this.

TR: First of all, where is your hometown?
Joe Gow: "Well it's hard for me to say home town, because I moved a lot but I spent first grade through freshman year of college in Pennsylvania.

TR: Very cool, what did you study in college?
Gow: "I went three schools just for my undergrad, not many people know that. First year I went to a place called Westchester University. Then I went to New York University and then I transfered to Penn State for my junior and senior years. I started in Business and then changed to Journalism. I went to Alabama for graduate school for Speech Communication and then my doctorate at Penn State also for speech communication. So I've been a number of places.

TR: What brought you to La Crosse?
Gow: "Well its just a dream come true. I knew after awhile I wanted to be a leader of a great university. When I was selected I just couldn't say no."

Q: So what is your favorite part about La Crosse and Wisconsin?
Gow: Basically the people, particularly the students here at UW-L."

TR: You're in your Junior year as Chancellor of UWL, immediately you were a bit of a celebrity on campus. How did that all come about?
Gow: "Well, it in the past my inclination was that students did not really know much about who the Chancellor was. So I made it a point to be a visible figure and they really like that."

TR: What do you think of all the attention?
Gow: [Laughs] "Well I think it's great, I mean who wouldn't want that?"

TR: So we all know your a guitarist, who are your musical influences?
Gow: "Hard rock of 1970s and blues of the 50s. So Led Zepplin, it all comes together there. I am in a band now with a faculty member and lawyer and will be playing a show at the Popcorn Tavern on November 13th at 10:45pm We will be playing lots of stuff like Jimi Hendrix and Cream."

TR: Are you a sports fan?
Gow: "I used to play a lot when I was younger but now I only run and lift weights for exercise. I love to watch football. Right now I'm pretty interested in what Brett Favre is trying to do at his age, it's pretty remarkable."

TR: I'm sure you're pretty preoccuppied but do you have any hobbies?
Gow: "Yeah its busy, but I always make time for music and of course films. Me and my wife are members of Netflix."

TR: What's on your Ipod?
Gow: "Well put it this way, in my car CD-player I've got the tubes, John Lee Hooker, and Van Halen."

TR: During your time here at La Crosse one of your major staples are your frequent emails. Who thought of that?
Gow: "I came here from a bunch of smaller schools of only about 1,500 students in Nebraska, and we have almost 10,000 students and almost 1,000 people work here and I thought, 'How can I reach all of these people?' So coming from a journalism background, I thought why don't I write some notes? Some people reply back to me but I don't always have time to do a lengthy reply but I do try to connect."

TR: What is your crowning moment to date for you as Chancellor?
Gow: "Defininitely the passing of Growth, Quality, and Access was a big day for me. Of course I cannot take credit for it all as many, many people put hard work into it but it was an important achievement for UWL."

TR: What was your childhood dream?
Gow: "I wanted to be a rockstar. Hey, I still want to."

TR: What is your proudest memory?
Gow: "Well at my last job they wanted to offer me extra salary and I said I don't need the money and I'd like to give it back and I'm pretty proud of that. The basic thing is it isn't about the money, but about the opportunity."

TR: Any guilty pleasures?
Gow: "I'm pretty straight-forward. I like what I like."

TR: What would attempt if you knew you could not fail?
Gow: "I usually try to do things I want to do, and being Chancellor of this university is one of those things."

TR: Very true and you may not be a rock star but at least you are one on campus. Finally, what is the major thing who hope to accomplish here during the rest of your time as Chancellor?
Gow: "To keep the university moving forward. So that when you graduate in 10 or 15 years and people ask you where you went to college and you say University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. They say "Wow, that is a great school." That's what I'm trying to do.

Thank you to Joe Gow for allowing for this interview to be taken place. As UW-L is entering its second century, we should feel confident that we are be well guided by a qualified and down-to-earth guy.

Students to Put on "Hair" Performance to Benefit Scholarship Fund

Did you miss this summer's performance of Hair on UW-L's SummerStage in July? Well good news, students from the theater program have organized a "Hair Under the Clock Tower Tribal Reunion." The event will be held on Wednesday October 21st under the clock tower from 4-6 pm. The performance will consist of acoustic and a capella numbers from the original Broadway score. These will be performed by many members of the cast from the summer performances in Toland Theater. The cast was composed students from both UW-L and Viterbo as well as community members who have fallen in love with this classic musical. Shannon McDonald, cast member and one of the performance's organizers, states, "It was a huge experience for all of us in the cast, and we all were going to jump at the chance to get back together for a good cause. We seriously felt like a family."

Hair is an old tradition for UW-L but due to a recent Broadway revival, it was unable to be put on this fall. Says McDonald, "This show is done every 10 years at UW-L and it is a huge encompassing experience for everyone in the cast, crew, and audience." Donations will be accepted as the event will be free of admission. All proceeds will be contributed to the theater department's scholarship fund dedicated to the late UW-L student, Peter Talen. "The Peter Talen Scholarship Fund is a scholarship based solely from donations from supporters of the department and goes to the most deserving students. We plan on having donation buckets dispersed throughout the crowd so that talented students will not have to feel a financial burden on their future in theater."

Come see a up close and personal performance of a classic American theater under the clock tower. If you are passing through, feel free to stick around for a few songs. All donations collected will be greatly appreciated and will help the arts live on here at UW-L.

When is it?

October 21st (Wednesday) from 4-6pm

Where?

Under the Clock Tower.

And its for FREE.

October Looks To Be Promising for the Cinema

This month is going to be a big month for movies. Already released last weekend were The Invention of Lying with Ricky Gervais, the spoofy horror Zombieland, and the rerelease of Disney/Pixar's Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3-D. Next weekend on October 9th will be the release of the new Vince Vaughn comedy Couples' Retreat. Law Abiding Citizen looks to be one of the most epically intense films of the year and stars both Jamie Foxx and Gerald Butler, out Oct. 16th. Also out that week will be the adaption of Maurice Sendak's classic, Where the Wild Things Are, and the thriller The Stepfather. Halloween-natured films dominate the weekend of Oct. 23 with Saw IV, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, and the 3-D release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The rock-doc on Michael Jackson's cancelled tour This is It begins its short two-week run on Oct. 28. Closing out the month on Oct. 30, much to the pleasure of college students nation wide is The Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day in limited release.

Eric and I will do our best to keep you updated on these movies so you don't pay for a few hours of disappointment. See you in the theaters and thanks for reading.

The Informant!

The newest work under the director of Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Trilogy) is The Informant!, a quirky dark comedy based on Kurt Eichenwald's 2000 book, the true tale about the highest-ranked whistle-blower in the history of white collar crime, Mark Whitacre (played by Matt Damon). Whitacre is a Cornell Ph. D. and is a rising star at Archer Daniels Midland, an agribusiness powerhouse involved in the high-fructose corn syrup found in about 90% of our grocery products. ADM was a powerful Fortune 500 company and was earning millions by price fixing with its competitors. Whitacre saw himself as an honest man and could not stand seeing himself letting illegal operations slide by under his watch. He was a tattle-tale who just wanted to do the right thing.

Through 5 years of serving the FBI as an informant, Whitacre provides hundreds of secretly recorded tapes from business meetings and other discussions. Unfortunately, he suffers from a bipolar disorder making it difficult for him to tell the truth. The FBI becomes frustrated as he slowly becomes another boy-who-cried-wolf. The dam bursts for Whitacre after he reveals that he siphoned off millions of dollars for himself, defending himself with the claims that "everyone was doing it." Whitacre brough ADM down, himself included.

The Informant! is an amusing film, there is a lot of subtle humor and a lot of quirky laughs. The script is filled with quotes of Whitacres thoughts, one of my favorites: "Polar bears cover their noses before they pounce on a seal. How do polar bears know their noses are black? Did they look in the water one day, see their reflection and say, 'Man, I'd be invisible if it wasn't for that thing.'" The score is equally erractic (perhaps mirroring the nature of Whitacre's bipolar imagination), it ranges from jazzy, to whimsical, to nearly Revolutionary War patriotic. There are a lot of familiar faces in supporting cast, including Joel McHale from E! Network and NBC's new comedy Community. George Clooney also makes the credits as an executive producer. This was a fun movie to sit though and I found plenty of laughs to be amused by. Damon totally nails his role, and is obviously one of the most versatile actors in the game. You can wait til it hits DVD but this sly comedy is a film worth seeing though the last 20 minutes seems at times rushed and at times drawn out too far. Hey, maybe your business law professor will assign it. We can dream right?

Rating: 2.5/4

Rated R for language.


The Informant! Trailer

Zombieland

I don't really venture into this genre too often. I think the only zombie movie I've seen is Shaun of the Dead. It's not my cup of tea. When I heard about this new knock on a zombie flick, I was understandably hesitant. I did some looking into it and when I saw that it had the likes of Woody Harrelson (Kingpin, No Country for Old Men), Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland, The Squid and the Whale), Emma Stone (Superbad), and Abigiail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, Definitely Maybe, My Sister's Keeper), I became a little more optimistic about seeing this. Once the trailers and TV spots started making it's way to computers and televisions everywhere, I became ridiculously interested in seeing it. Needless to say I was pretty giddy when I was waiting through the ads and previews, and I was not disappointed once it was showtime.

Zombieland is about the struggle of the remaining humans on earth to fight off the attacking zombies and stay alive. The story is narrarated by one of those lucky guys named Colombus, played by Eisenberg. He is the typical awkward hero we've come to recognize in most movies these days. He is the next Michael Cera for comparison's sake, but he is actually way better and has a much brighter future ahead of him. Nonetheless, he is on a trip back to his hometown when he meets Talahassee, who is also on a journey of his own. His mission in life is to find the last remaining Twinkie on earth. They end up joining forces because there is nobody else around, and they might as well hang out while time permits. While they are on a search for the last remaining Twinkie, they encounter two girls named Wichita and Little Rock, who end up tricking the guys into thinking one of them was bitten by a zombie, giving them the opportunity to steal the guys' truck. They end up crossing paths later on and when they realize that they will get nowhere on their own, they team up in the fight against the zombies. They then head cross-country, killing zombies that come across their path, all while trying to keep each other as safe as they can be, hoping that they will survive this.

This movie was solid. Like I said before, this genre isn't geared towards my liking, but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. The first few minutes were actually a little bit scary, but when it's mixed with the impressive timing of Jesse Eisenberg, it actually is enjoyable. The movie never loses steam because of the chemistry of Eisenberg and Harrelson. It was one of the first things that I noticed watching this. They were the perfect fit for these roles. For a zombie movie, this was phenominal. You will get all the entertainment you need, and you will get way more laughs then you could have imagined. A must see.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-cIjPOJdFM

Joe Gow's Movie Pick of the Week! "Election"

"'Election': This 1999 film, directed by Alexander Payne, presents a wickedly funny and cynical view of the "politics" surrounding a high school class president contest. Reese Witherspoon is wonderful as the hyper overachieving, yet slyly manipulative, Tracy Flick. And Matthew Broderick's "Mr. McAllister" is one of the most complex portrayals of a teacher ever captured on film." -- Joe Gow, UW-La Crosse Chancellor


"Election" on IMDb

Beerfest

In lieu of Oktoberfesting, I decided to do a little blurb on one of my favorite party movies, Beerfest. There is really no defining reason as to why I like this movie so much. It's definitely not worthy of any awards. It is basically about five buddies deciding to form an American drinking team to battle against the Germans for the right to the family brewery. This is the fourth movie from the Broken Lizard Industry (known for Super Troopers, Club Dread, and the soon to be released Slammin' Salmon). All in all, its a decent movie and it is good innocent fun. Have a good Oktoberfest everyone, no matter how you decide to celebrate it.

Rating: 2 out of 4 stars.

Top 8 Party Movies of All Time

8. Road Trip (2000)

A crazy race against time with Sean William Scott and his college bros as they try to recover their friend's drunken mistake caught on tape.

7. American Pie Trilogy (1999-2003)

You'll never look at apple pie the same way again.

6. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Sean Penn's big breakout role as a longhaired high school stoner.

5. Beerfest (2006)

Das Boot!!! Like Oktoberfest captured in a single movie.

4. Van Wilder (2002)

Ladies, we present you Ryan Reynolds. Enjoy.

3. Superbad (2007)

Judd Apatow's crowning comedy, but the cops almost spoil it.

2. Old School (2003)

Frank the Tank would have won this hands down if not for the movie that paved the way for all party movies. You're my boy Blue!!!

1. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

Cult college classic with John Belushi (pictured above) started the party movie genre with togas galore.

Joe Gow's Movie Pick of the Week! "Network"

"Network: With uncanny accuracy this 1976 film, directed by Sidney Lumet, foresaw the critical impact of the profit motive on television journalism. What was once thought to be “objective reporting” becomes sensationalistic entertainment and the phrase “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” is the rallying cry for a vast and angry audience. I first saw this film as an undergraduate journalism student and it both changed the way I viewed the media and led me to re-think my career plans. While perhaps not as powerful today, “Network” still has much to say—in a very entertaining and provocative fashion—about media’s complex role in contemporary society."
-- Joe Gow, Chancellor of UW-La Crosse

Network at imdb

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

It's not every day that you walk in to a movie theater and you can not relate to anybody in there. That was the case for us when we walked in to the Carmike Valley Square Cinema on Saturday afternoon. The crowd consisted of parents with their children, grandparents also with their children and grandchildren, and then us: two random college students choosing to spend their weekends inside.

Taking advantage of the air conditioning and our fashionable 3-D glasses, we spent the afternoon watching food fly every which way in Sony Animation's newest release Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Based off of the popular children's book written by Judi and Ron Barrett, Meatballs is about a young, brilliant, and unfortunately unlucky inventor named Flint Lockwood. His whole life Flint wanted to make the one invention that would get him his notoriety and change the world around him. After countless failed experiments, he comes up with a contraption that didn't originally work, but by a freak accident ended up turning his luck around. This machine was capable of transforming water into food, but it ends up causing a downpour of cheeseburgers on their city. The citizens are originally in love with the new results, but when the people start getting too acclamated to this new gift, things begin to spiral out of control, and all eyes are back on Flint to save the town again.

This movie was flat out fun. It is amazing to sit in a theater full of kids just cracking up at anything that happens. Although this is geared towards the child audience, the all-star cast can keep any teen or adult interested. The cast includes the like of SNL members Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Will Forte. It also stars Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris, Bobb'e J. Thompson (the rising child star from Role Models and Imagine That), and even Mr. T does the voice of the town police officer. It's arguably the best animated this summer since Up, but it does have its shortcomings. Nevertheless, this is a must see movie, whether it be in theaters or on DVD.

Rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEyjj-L5Mv8

The Time Traveler's Wife

For our first review for the Racquet we thought we should try something we haven't done too often yet, review a romantic drama. With all the students back in La Crosse reuniting with old friends and meeting countless new ones, many guys out there will be looking for a perfect movie to ask that one special girl out to see. Of course he wants to find something the girl will love and something he can at least tolerate if not secretly enjoy, but he won't admit it of course.

The Time Traveler's Wife is the latest work of director Robert Schwentke, and this is arguably his most successful film to date. It is a story of girl named Claire (Rachel McAdams) who spends her entire life visited by a man, Henry (Eric Bana), who has a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel throughout different times of the lives of his mother, Claire, himself, and later into the life of his daughter Alba. Henry meets Claire very early on in her life, around the age of 6 or 7. Claire then spends her life awaiting his next visit and they become extremely connected to each other. Constantly waiting becomes the first struggle of many for the two. Claire is forced to patiently wait Henry's return, and it becomes harder and harder the deeper the two fall for each other. More challenges come along the way for the two as they struggle with living a normal life through marriage, childbirth, and awaiting an unknown but unavoidable death. But, the two are determined through their love for each to fight and live for each other. Because if anything is worth loving, it is worth fighting for and if life is worth fighting for, it's always worth living.

The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the best movies to come out this summer. It is of course a romantic drama, but it avoids all corniness even with it's "time travel" situation. Though an near science-fictional concept, the story seems very real to the audience. The acting of both Bana and McAdams under the good direction of Schwentke keep the audience locked in. The girls will be clutching their tissues and the boys will be contemplating the proper time to do the ol' "stretch and nonchalantly put your arm around her" routine. Date night or girls night out, The Time Traveler's Wife is a movie worth seeing. Eric Bana will woo his way into girls' fantasies and Rachel McAdams proves yet again that she is one of the most beautiful and talented persons in Hollywood. Ladies, you'll love this movie and guys, your ladies will love that you brought them to this movie.

Rating: 3 of out 4 stars.

Trailer : Click here!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This marks the first review which will be printed in the UW-L Racquet!

Coming soon to Coate Field is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, last year's Oscar nominee for Best Picture. This fictional biopic which chapters the life of a man living in reverse is the most impressive work to date of director David Fincher. Benjamin Button is born as a grotesque miniature man of 80 or 90 years of wrinkled age. Startled by his son's appearance, Benjamin (played by Brad Pitt in an Oscar nominated role) is abandoned on the door step of an assisted living residence. He is adopted by one of the home's caretakers and Benjamin starts his life as no other man has known. His "childhood" starts with arthritis and a wheelchair, presumedly aging forward towards death. As time goes on, it becomes evident that Benjamin is not growing older by the day, but younger.

As the film progresses you are taken through Ben's struggles and life lessons as he learns to read, walk, and all those other motor skills as the world see's him as something far different than a child. During his preadolescence (which appears to be late 70s) Benjamin encounters his first crush, a young girl who grows into a renown ballerina, played by Cate Blanchett. They become good friends from the start but as they begin growing closer to each other in age, their hearts grow much closer as well. Age, youth, injury, and death test the characters' will to be together as their age distances. Benjamin's life is marked by experiences, encounters, and journeys. He spends life as a retiree, a sailer, a child, and in the beginning and in the end he is alone.

This movie pushes 3 hours in length but its plot keeps you captivated along the way. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett both turn in great performances. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a revelation to what really matters in one's life. Everyone lives for an unknown time, but the years do not compare to the ways in which they are spent. Because, as the tagline proclaims, "Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments."

To see how this plays out, be sure tocheck out Midnight Movies at Coate Field during Welcome Week!

Rating: 3.5/4 Stars

The Goods: Sell Hard, Live Hard

I love Jeremy Piven. His role as Ari Gold in Entourage is one the greatest characters in television and it has scored him an Emmy. But in this role as Don Ready, a dynamo salesman of used automobiles, I see much of the same character but in much more watered down and more trashy version. Don Ready is very vulgar and lewd but he lacks much of the Ari Gold wit and flash that makes Jeremy Piven a good actor.
In "The Goods," the premise is that a used car lot is about to go belly up if it doesn't move many of the sitting cars in its inventory within the next few days. The owner calls in a "mercenary" (Piven) to liquidate the assets and save the business. The major plot in the movie is that Don Ready becomes emotionally attached to this task, because of his love interest in the daughter of the autodealer, Ivy, played by Jordana Spiro of "My Boys" (TBS) fame. There are a lot of obstacles that come in the way and they are all very over the top, and not very funny. As the story plays out you see some familiar faces notably Ed Helms (The Hangover, The Office), Will Ferrell, and much to my displeasure Kathryn Hahn (the sex maniac inlaw of Step Brothers, I seriously cannot stand her choice of roles) and David Koechner (Champ from Anchorman, I hate him in all his roles as well).

This wraps up to be an okay movie, but I wouldn't pin it to be a good at all. At the same time it's not that bad, it was decently entertaining and very short (83 minutes). It was far from as funny as I hoped it to be. The writing wasn't sold very well and producer Adam McCay appears to have fallen short yet again. Save this movie for the Redbox.

Rating: 1.5 of 4 stars.

Trailer

Shorts

In theatres as of August 21 comes Shorts, the next film by director Robert Rodriguez. He was also the director of Spy Kids, which really laid out what I was going to get with this movie. It was going to be cheesy and completely geared for the kids. I really don't know why I decided to watch this.

This movie was really, really bad. I really regret watching this. It's supposed to be a light-hearted, goofy kid's comedy, but it was so dumb I don't see why anyone would go and pay money to see this. In a story basically involving a boy named Toby coming across a magic rainbow-colored rock that grants wishes, you really get a handful of 'laughs'. The story is told in a series of shorts, all which crank out forced joke after forced joke. I really don't want to devulge more about this film because I really couldn't care less about it. Overall, a big waste of time, and unless you are babysitting and need to kill an hour and a half, a definite not see.

Rating: 1 out of 4 stars Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tClE9-Pkptw&feature=related

Adventureland

Coming from the director of Superbad, Greg Mottola is Adventureland. The movie takes place in Pittsburgh in 1987 as it follows the post-college shortcomings of James Brennan (played by Jesse Eisenberg, who is possibly the new Michael Cera type, and who will be seen in Zombieland this fall). He had planned for a trip to Europe for his graduation present, but his Dad's job was transferred, thus ending said trip. All his financial setbacks force James to take a summer job at the local amusement park, Adventureland. This obviously isn't what James had had in mind but little does he know that what started out as his worst summer to date could actually turn out to be the most transformative.

Being that this is from the director of Superbad, I thought there was going to be a plethora of f-bombs and just gross-out joke after gross-out joke. Not that I don't enjoy that kind of thing, but this movie really wasn't that at all. It really was more down the line of a drama. I was really impressed by Eisenberg, being that this was the first movie that I had seen with him in it. He is the next Michael Cera, but he has a little more witty and intellectual with his delivery, whereas Cera is just random and shy with his. This movie also stars Kristen Stewart, from the Twilight series. She does a very nice job playing Em, the love interest of James. This relatively unknown cast all does a pretty good job and really makes this a watchable drama. I was a little disappointed because there weren't as many laughs as I thought. Also, the guy from the Cingular commercials, who is always fighting with his mom about rollover minutes and such, was also in this film (Matt Bush). I don't like that guy.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars Out on 8/25 on dvd Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xykI3kkM9l4

Inglourious Basterds

This picture is huge. Anyways my apolgies for not putting up any reviews up in the last few weeks. It's been a busy stretch. Also, I'm going to start making these shorter as well so I can get more out frequently. So let's begin.

Inglourious Basterds is the next film in a long line of impressive flicks by director Quentin Tarantino. From seeing the trailer I was all like, "dang this going to be as graphic as Kill Bill but as witty and funny as Pulp Fiction." I happened to be pretty close to my guess, but there was something about this movie that made it fall short of expectations.

A real quick summary of the film before my opinion of it. In nazi-occupied France, there are two things happening. The first is there is a lieutenant played by Cristoph Waltz going around and killing what remaining Jewish people there are left. We meet him at a house suspected of hiding Jewish people. They shoot up the house and only one girl manages to escape. Also, there is a group of men called "The Basterds" lead by Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). There sole purpose in France is to kill Nazis. Can't really go to much more into depth on that topic, because that's all they do. The movie then follows these two stories through scenes that to some could be hilarious, to some could be boring, and to some be absolutely gross and made you want to turn away. That's what Tarantino brings us in all of his films, and this one isn't different.

Unfortunately, something about this movie rubbed me the wrong way right from the start. I knew that Tarantino likes to prolong his violent sequences with a little prolonged humorous dialogue, but this one seemed to just drag it out. I also thought some of the stuff was unecessary. Don't get me wrong, I love Tarantino's films, especially Pulp Fiction, and there are some things that I felt were over the top, yet I still enjoyed it. For this film, I felt that the over the top stuff was just not needed because it was used incorrectly. I can't say what they were because I don't want to give anything away. This review is running long so my overall impression was disappointed. Not the worst thing your going to see this summer, but not worth seeing. Brad Pitt is very funny as the lead, but just about everything else besides that falls short.

Rating: 2 out of 4 stars Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQhTVz5IjQ

The Ugly Truth

Out in theatres as of July 24th is The Ugly Truth, just another film in the long line of romantic comedies to hit the screens this summer. The plot really follows the romantic comedy guidelines as we watch a struggling television producer Abby (Katherine Heigl) try and come up with ways to make her show better. Her superior then decides to bring in Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), who's cable show is a hit because of the ridiculous things that Chadway says or does during his airtime.

Abby immediately is disgusted with Chadway's opinions and viewponits until she meets what she thinks is Mr. Right. She then begins to brag about it to mike until he realizes that she is never going to win this guy unless he helps her out. They then agree to a deal that basically consists of Chadway coaching her in all her moves with this new guy. This is about where you can insert the standard romantic comedy plot. The two, after spending so much time together, begin to feel something between them, and then it comes time for Abby to choose between her dream man and the man she would not dream of being with.

This movie isn't terrible. It does follow the typical plot, but I think what seperated it a little bit from the rest of the bad rom-coms is the lead acting. I feel that they both did a nice job, but that's about the extent of it. This movie would be a good date idea, but other than that, not really worth seeing.

Rating: 2/4 stars Trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-wMe9vxkWI

The Soloist

Out today on DVD is the Soloist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. This is a story about a LA Times columnist, Lopez (Downey Jr.), who discovers a homeless man, Ayers (Foxx), with a astounding musical talent. This man is surprisingly a Juliard dropout, but can play a string instrument as if his sole purpose on earth was to do so. However, he is schizophrenic and is very hesitant to trust anyone.

But the columnist persists and wants to help this man, while uncovering an exhilarating story for him to print. As time goes on though, it is realized that some of life's challenges are not as curable as one may hope. This is the major conflict in the plot as Ayers fights for his independence and Lopez fights for well-being of his medically ill friend. But what is also realized, is the most unlikely places that you'll find the most beautiful things.

All and all this is a well-directed film but around 90 minutes it begins to slow and get tiresome. Downey and Foxx turn in very impressive performances, as to be expected. It is based on a true story but yet, I did not feel like it was up to my anticipations of the movie. This film is available for rent and purchase today.

Rating: Not great, not bad. 2.5/4 Stars

Trailer

Free Movies From Redbox?

With the high price of renting from Blockbuster or Family Video and the long waits of the Netflix customer as the mailman delivers the next flick from his queue, many must think there has got to be a better way to get movies. Well friends there is, and not too many people now about this.

Check this out. Redbox and its partners create promo codes allowing people to rent movies for no charge for one day (late fees still apply) in hopes of being those customers into the stores which the redbox's are located. Sounds silly right? But it works. Just enter in a code and swipe your card and you will rent the DVD for free. Codes only work only time per card you use, but if you have multiple cards to your name this equates to multiple free movies.

So text time your near a redbox, try these codes on for size. Believe me, it will work and it will be free. I haven't paid for a redbox rental in well over a month.

Codes:

DVDONME
BREAKROOM

Also, click here to get texts from redbox for a promo code for Free Movie Monday. These codes are only valid for 24 hours.

Enjoy your free movies, and let's all hope that this doesn't bankrupt redbox.

To locate the nearest redbox click here.

The Hurt Locker

There have been plenty of films that try and try again to give us the feel of what it is like in Iraq. I can't name these movies off the top of my head but I do remember that they didn't really get it right. The Hurt Locker gets it right. It's almost perfect in it's representation of the war in this field of duty.

The story follows an EOD bomb squad located in Baghdad over a year long stay. It starts with the team trying to disarm the first bomb that we're exposed to. Unfortunately, the team's bomb technician is killed on this mission because of a roadisde terrorist detonating the bomb with his phone. We are then introduced to the new bomb technician, William James (played by Jeremy Renner who could be on the short list for best actor). He is incredibly smart, but he acts pretty impulsively, putting his team in more danger than they need a handful of times. There isn't really a whole lot of a story to follow, it's mainly just a lot of gripping scenes taking us from one mission to the next.

This movie is hands down the best that i've seen this year. There honestly was no moment where I wasn't on the edge of my seat. It's not gory at all, but you are always filled with that scared feeling because you can not trust anyone you see and you really don't know what's going to happen from mission to mission. The relatively unknown cast (Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, etc.) really does an awesome job in embodying what it is like to be on a squad like this. I've never seen a film like this. It is so gripping all throughout the film. Never a dull or unimportant moment. In my opinion, the leading contender for best actor and best picture for this year's Oscars.

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars In expanded release in select cities. Becoming more widely released week by week

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhQdJTlo5NI

Funny People

Let's just list the movies that Judd Apatow has either written, directed or produced, and you'll know why I was excited to see this movie. The movies are: Anchorman, The 40 Year-Old virgin, Talladega Nights, Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Drillbit Taylor, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers, and the announced Forgetting Sarah Marshall sequel: Get Him to the Greek. Yeah. Speaks for itself, doesn't it?

The story behind Funny People is different from any other film that Apatow has made. There is actually a credible and serious conflict in the story. The film is about the world of stand up comedy, mainly centered around comic icon George Simmons, played by Adam Sandler. We learn early into the film that he has a rare blood disease, a form of leukemia if you will. The disease is much too advanced to start things such as chemo or other techniques, so it's just a matter of time before George Simmons dies. He then asks a fellow comic, Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to begin to write jokes for him. Writing all his own material would be way too much for Simmons to handle while battling his disease, so that's why he basically hires a lifetime opening act in Ira to be his assistant. Here's something I have not done in a review and I don't plan on donig again, but I'm going to cut the summary short here. Having really enjoyed this film, I don't want to keep rambling on and then end up needing to say something that may spoil the experience for anyone that goes and sees this movie.

This film was 140 minutes long, but to me it didn't feel like it was a minute stretched out at all. The thing that separates this film from all the other Apatow creations is that it's a movie about funny people, not a movie with funny people. By that I simply mean that the jokes didn't seem scripted at all. It's ironic to me because that's all stand up comedy is is scripted jokes. This film also contains a really good story amidst all the vulgar comedy. There actually is something to follow along with besides waiting for next laugh out loud moment. Don't get me wrong there still are a ton of those moments, it's just now there's something in between that to keep you interested. With what I feel are the best performances by Sandler and Rogen to date, I have no problem naming this the best Judd Apatow film by far.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars In wide release right now. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24VVnvrjI8w

tRowe's 2 cents: "Definitely a drama about funny people and not a comedy with funny people. This film has surprisingly more depth than all previous Apatow productions. Worth seeing in theaters. 3 of 4 stars."

G-Force

There is a fine line in a comedy movie that can seperate the good and the bad. This line extends to the animated film as well, not just the typical movie that we see. The line is basically defined by the humor that we experience in the movie. In the animated movie, for example, we see good humor in a movie like Wall-E. It's very simple, it's genuine, and there isn't any gross-out or teenage humor in it. However, in a movie like G-Force the comedy seems to be centered around childish humor, which ultimately leads it to be the first negative review on this site.

The movie is about a team of secret agent animals voiced by the likes of Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, and Sam Rockwell. They are led by their human boss, Ben (played by Zach Galifianakis). The night before a big federal budget review, the crew heads to Leonard Saber's house. Saber has been under investigation by the FBI for years because they believe he is working up a horrible scheme that is set to occur in a little over 24 hours. They get the information they need, but the next day during the review when they try to convince the federal agents that they have this information, all the files that they recieved are about home electronic appliances, thus leading the team to be shut down and all the team to be seized. With the help of their human allies, the team manages to escape, but the escape falls short and they all end up in a local pet shop. Now the team has to manage to get back together again so they can stop the sinister plot that they all know is about to take place.

This movie had a little bit of a promise to be good, but in reality, it sucked. It really did. The humor in it was a little too childish to be funny. One guinea pig was playing DDR and the other one would be posting something on their facebook page. It just didn't make sense. I know that this is completely geared towards the kids but i felt like the makers of this movie were selling themselves short by making the humor this way. Overall, just a very disappointing movie.

Rating: 1.5 out of 4 stars. In theatres everywhere
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1-cK5P4EDE

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Public Enemies

Public Enemies makes Wisconsin's most recent Hollywood connection. With a solid cast of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale (filmed before the monumental freak-out, heard here), Public Enemies chapters the fearless antics of gangster John Dillinger.

Enemies takes you through his prison escape, his murders, his gunfights, all the way to his inevitable demise. Depp is again proving himself as one of the most versatile actors of today, although admittedly I kept trying to image Captain Jack Sparrow to be cruising around in a Model T while flashing a Tommy Gun. As far as anyone can tell, the film remains historically accurate. It is exciting and intriguing, especially for a Wisconsin native seeing this history play out years before I was even a thought.

Public Enemies is a well directed movie with solid acting. It does approach the verge of being lengthy but the credits will roll before you find yourself begging to see them. Its a good movie with historical value, and enough action to make the 183 minute run-time, time decently spent.

To see the trailer click here.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

I Love You, Man

This marks the first review for a movie that isn't in theatres, but is actually close to coming out on DVD.

I love you, man is about Peter Klaven (played by Paul Rudd) trying to find a best man for his upcoming wedding. The reason for the search is explained in the beginning of the movie, and that reason is that Peter had always gotten along better with women, and all his male friends had faded away. He gets set up on 'man-dates' by his mother and his gay brother, played by Andy Samberg. The first few dates are so uncomfortable, with one date ending up with a long, uncomfortable kiss.

Peter, a real estate agent is then shown having an open house. This is where he meets the interesting Sydney Fife (played by Jason Segel, the star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall). These two both take a liking to each other, and they start going out on a few man-dates. They slowly begin to form a bond, but not before a few incredibly awkward exchanges between the two. They really start to bond furthermore, and then it eventually comes down to Peter to choose between his developing bromance with Sydney, or his future with his fiancee Zoey (Rasheeda Jones).

This movie was a big hit for me. I really enjoy the awkward exchange, and there are plenty in this one. Some viewers may be tired of the same old comedy, but I really think that this film is entirely different from the rest because of the bromance relationship. I really feel that if this was another guy-going-for-the-girl type movie, then it wouldn't have done as well. Overall, a very pleasant and funny move.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars Out on DVD on 8/11 or on www.watch-movies-links.net