tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12761406437698264102024-02-19T20:34:35.895-05:00REALLY REEL REVIEWSWe’re two regular guys sharing our opinions on movies and entertainment. We watch movies the same ways you do - in theaters using our hard earned money or on DVD at home. We're not fancy reviewers telling you what studios want you to hear. We tell you what you want to know.
Hated a movie? So did we. Loved a certain scene? We did too. Remembered an actor from another movie? Yep, we caught it. Post comments or email us. And catch our podcast: Really Reel Reviews on Blog Talk Radio.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-11013886415960138422010-12-13T16:11:00.000-05:002010-12-13T16:11:09.416-05:00Week 11 TV Power RankingsWith a lot of shows seasons either ending or going on hiatus until after the holidays, we too will be taking a break from the rankings. Look for our return sometime after the week of 1/17.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>"Running Wilde" </b>and <b>"The Challenge: Cutthroat" </b>have been removed because the first was garbage and the second was too difficult to write about each week.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. (2) “Chuck”</b> – Well it was pretty much inevitable, wasn’t it? After one week off the top spot, “Chuck” returns. I thought the return of Timothy Dalton was a lot better than his first episode that other “Chuck” fans were all about. I was a little bit disappointed with the way Chuck was able to regain his Intersect abilities though. It seemed like too much of a quick fix.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. (1) “Community”</b> – I thought the episode dealing with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Troy</st1:place></st1:city>’s 21<sup>st</sup> birthday was one of the more depressing episodes of a sitcom I’ve seen. The laughs really weren’t there this episode, but it showed how strong a show “Community” has become because I don’t watch it for the jokes (even though they are usually plentiful), I watch it for the characters. That’s usually the mark of a very strong show.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. (5) “Terriers”</b> – It’s just so sad. Unfortunately, no one besides me and a few other people watched this show, and so FX had little choice but to cancel it. I’m still ranking it this highly because there was no show on cable this year that had a better full season. I’d highly recommend anyone interested to someday purchase the DVD and am confident you won’t be disappointed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4. (4) “30 Rock”</b> – I keep saying it and I am fully aware how repetitive I am, but this season has just been such a return to glory for this show. I am starting to not be surprised by how good the quality is each week, but rather expecting it the same way I did when the show first started.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5. (3) “Modern Family”</b> – There’s been a couple slow episodes and a few strong ones, but the majority of this season has fallen somewhere in the middle. Still, it’s held firm as one of the shows I look forward to the most each week.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6. (6) “Boardwalk Empire”</b> – Fantastic finale. I know I criticized the show in the beginning for being a little slow, but I had absolutely no complaints about the last few episodes. The finale did an excellent job of closing out the season, and also setting things up for a second season I can’t wait to see.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">7. (7) “Sons of Anarchy”</b> – Well here’s the question: Would you rather watch a show where the season is very good throughout, but the finale is so-so, or a show where the season is uneven, but the finale is incredible? Season 2 of “Sons” was the former, Season 3 the latter. I think I would put myself in the former category because even with the finale of Season 3, I still enjoyed Season 2 a lot more. What will be interesting is the first two finales clearly set up the dilemmas for the following seasons, whereas I think Season 4 could go in a number of different ways. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">8. (9) “Walking Dead” – </b>It’s difficult to really get a good feeling for a show in only six episodes. It’s also surprising that is the usual length of seasons for British shows. (Fun fact: British shows call the seasons of shows, “series”) I really enjoyed the premiere season of this show and will be very excited when it returns. However, I still have my doubts for how long a show built on simply surviving a zombie attack won’t soon get to be too much of the same thing over and over.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">9. (8) “Fringe” – </b>I’m a little sad the two Olivia’s have returned to their respective worlds now. I’m also a little nervous the show won’t be as strong without that dynamic involved. It was a great ride while it lasted though and I am sure the two will meet again. Sadly, this show will be relegated to Friday nights soon and that’s not a timeslot that spells big time hit.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">10. (10) “The Event”</b> – I have fallen back a bit with my enthusiasm for this show. I think I am only a fan of learning more about the back stories of where the aliens have been for the last 40 years. I still have very little interest in anything related to Sean and Leila, but perhaps finding out her father is an alien will change that for me when the show returns.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">11. (12) “Family Guy”</b> – It’s difficult to really go to in depth reviewing this show since the characters never change. I just feel like this season’s been particularly strong as I am laughing out loud a lot more frequently.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">12. (11) “How I Met Your Mother”</b> – I think this season’s been a lot better than the previous one, but I still don’t think it’s rebounded back to the form of the first two seasons. They are still having those dud episodes where too much is going on and I am not laughing enough. And I don’t think Zoey is the mother anymore, so now I’m just waiting for them to get through her storyline because at this point I only want Ted to be with the mother. Finally, it really pains me to say this, but Jorge Garcia’s performance as the Blitz made me realize why I didn’t see much of him before “Lost” and now don’t expect to see him much after. I still love you Hurley.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">13. (13) “It’s Always Sunny in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:city></st1:place>”</b> – I was disappointed with this season as a whole. I also don’t like how the season finale is the Christmas episode I already bought on DVD a year ago. I feel like I got screwed somehow with that. I’d say the lone bright spot from the season was when Charlie and Dennis got drunk with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They seemed like nice enough guys.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">14. (15) “The Office”</b> – I have to say, the Oscar-Michael China debate really brought the show back a little bit for me. I was getting used to ripping the show in the rankings every week, but I can’t rip what I’d loved. The Tour De France joke was probably my favorite.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">15. (X) “Glory Daze”</b> – Ok, there was some chatter among the masses for this show to be added so I decided to give it a shot. The show seems to be “borrowing” a lot of subject material. The scene in the pilot when <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Reno</st1:place></st1:city> hits on the teacher in the supermarket is reminiscent of Otter hitting on the Dean’s wife in the supermarket from “Animal House”. I liked Kevin Nealon’s appearance as the weird townie who the guys visit at his house better the first time when Will Ferrell did it on “Undeclared”. The “Guy who’s close to 30 and is still in school” character is in almost every college movie, and the one in this show looks like Tom Green, who played that type of character in “Road Trip”. I also felt I recognized the Republican main character from something, but couldn’t remember what. Well it’s from a music video he did with Selena Gomez they played at my gym all the time and it’s awful (go to the 2:15 mark, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4UPO9lmmYc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4UPO9lmmYc</a> ). Now despite this show having all this going against it, I really like it. I know that sounds silly, but I don’t care that I’ve seen this stuff before or if one of the actors is a Canadian pop star (the male version of Robin Sparkles), I just like the show. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">16. (16) “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cougar</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Town</st1:placetype></st1:place>”</b> – Hasn’t been on since the last time I did a rankings, but my opinion stays the same. It’s not horrible, but I feel like it’s taken a step back and have been very disappointed with its sophomore season.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">17. (17) “Raising Hope”</b> – I was waiting for when “My Name is Earl” star Jason Lee would make an appearance on this show. Now that he has, I wish it had been a character that had more potential to pop up again. Maybe that’s still something that can happen, but I don’t see why an aging rock star would revisit this small town or odd family anytime soon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">18. (18) “Glee”</b> – I’m strongly leaning towards chopping this down to 15 shows once I return and this is one of the reasons. I have nothing to say about this show anymore. Last season, I really enjoyed the jokes the show had, I liked Sue, I tolerated the characters I didn’t care for and I knew most of the songs. This season, there are less jokes, Sue’s become like a cartoon character villain, I can’t stand whenever Mr. Schuster is on the screen and I know one song an episode. I don’t even know why I keep watching it at this point.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">19. (19) “Survivor”</b> – I disagreed with people who thought it was corny that the prize they got one week was to watch “Gulliver’s Travels”. These people haven’t had anything to do for a month except swim, stare at each other, crap in the woods and be hungry. It wouldn’t surprise me at all that they’d welcome a movie, ANY movie, as an escape from what they would be doing without it. Having said that, from the standpoint of someone who is well fed, uses a toilet and watches so much TV they write a rankings column, that movie looks like terrible.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">20. (20) “Parenthood”</b> – Whenever I see Michael B. Jordan, it just makes me wish “Friday Night Lights” was currently on instead of shows like “Chase” or “The Defenders”. And that’s why “Parenthood” is #20, because I use the space for it to discuss my fondness for other shows.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">21. (21) “The League”</b> – I didn’t think it was possible, but this show is starting to ruin my enthusiasm for fantasy football. </div>About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-43910248500692044202010-12-03T11:14:00.000-05:002010-12-03T11:14:24.848-05:00Remembering My Godfather of Slapstick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52nWGvhzS4ciRP1ySKm1P4ppzWINM46rJEaayBIusOekzWT6bd6tDzQE_ciNlecz27vvOBHqQuA1LYtT_zqo9eLGQjB3xpGIaHCSWzJLp3tmeQryTeeHGlXZkllGG0nmPbF9hRctwbRM/s1600/leslie-nielsen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52nWGvhzS4ciRP1ySKm1P4ppzWINM46rJEaayBIusOekzWT6bd6tDzQE_ciNlecz27vvOBHqQuA1LYtT_zqo9eLGQjB3xpGIaHCSWzJLp3tmeQryTeeHGlXZkllGG0nmPbF9hRctwbRM/s1600/leslie-nielsen.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">I think as people grow up we are introduced to the different genres of movies by the actors who frequent them. For many people they will always equate any action movie to the work of Arnold Schwarzenegger. For others, there will never be a leading lady in a romantic comedy that will top Julia Roberts. These actors define these types of movies and when you think of that variety of movie, you think of that person who portrayed those characters so adeptly. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the actors who defined a genre for me growing up sadly passed away this week. Leslie Nielsen was 84 when he died on Sunday night and to me he will always be the face of slapstick comedy. The first time I saw “The Naked Gun” I thought how I had never seen a movie like this before, and didn’t know they made movies like that. Up until that point, my comedy taste focused mostly on Scooby Doo and the Mupper Babies, so this was a major part of the puberty for my comedic tastes. The jokes were so ridiculous but Nielsen spoke them all with such uncanny delivery. Even though I probably understood about 25% of what was said, I still laughed until I could hardly breathe.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I grew older and I rewatched “TNG”, I picked on even more of the subtler jokes I had missed. I also picked up on the ones that were too mature for me to get, specifically one regarding a stuffed beaver, and the genius of Nielsen continued to grow for me. When I saw “Airplane” for the first time I immediately got excited when I saw him step on screen (this was before imdb, so if you weren’t paying attention to the credits you wouldn’t know who was in the movie until they appeared). His performance didn’t disappoint and it could be argued it’s even better than “TNG”. Nielsen’s presence didn’t always translate to laughs though. I remember being disappointed in him as The Captain in “The Poseidon Adventure”, and being frightened throughout that whole movie. Still, I never gave up hope on Nielsen’s presence in a movie delivering the goods and I followed his work throughout my teens.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There was another reason I followed Nielsen’s work so closely and it’s also why I’ll never forget him. As a kid I remember always wanting to make my father laugh and I loved watching him find something hilarious. The first person I remember my father laughing at was Leslie Nielsen. My father is by no means a stern man, and laughs quite frequently, but there was still something special for me to see him smile so broadly whenever Nielsen told someone not to call him Shirley. I continued to watch Nielsen’s movies not just as a fan, but also knowing each one was something new my father and I could share. We watched both “Naked Gun” sequels as they came out, and then made sure we rented “Dracula: Dead and Loving It”, “Spy Hard”, “Mr. Magoo” and “Wrongfully Accused”. Now none of those movies came near the level of the original “Naked Gun” or “Airplane” but they still made us laugh for 90 minutes each. Laughing at Nielsen’s antics together was one of the first bonds my father and I shared and while there have been plenty more since then; this one will always be close to my heart. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I didn’t follow Nielsen’s career very closely over the past few years. I knew he was in a few of the “(Blank) Movie”s, but I never checked them out. Nielsen’s passing is sad in it of itself, but what makes it even sadder for me is the state slapstick comedy is in right now. Those “(Blank) Movies”s seem to come out every six months, which makes me highly doubt their quality. Still, this was supposed to be something celebrating Nielsen and celebrating the joy his work brought to so many people like me and my father. So with that, I’d like to pass along a final thank you to Leslie Nielsen. For bringing me countless hours of enjoyment, for eliciting some of the biggest belly laughs I have ever shared with my father, and for being my Godfather of Slapstick Comedy. You will be missed.</div>About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-5658659134718989282010-11-23T16:19:00.004-05:002010-11-23T16:30:09.491-05:00Week 9 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSXkKDJHJiXoblhgl7jbJetIorUSGGs_A7R19Q_zrgBIFlXBN3qs3ZwoOir41uimsUlYbWPO4nNSR5K65VVzRQt239naFziQpAnFcKLg8H_qLJb1YcGQU99HsLFAmfUEInJZpzUtbM3s/s1600/boardwalk-empire.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSXkKDJHJiXoblhgl7jbJetIorUSGGs_A7R19Q_zrgBIFlXBN3qs3ZwoOir41uimsUlYbWPO4nNSR5K65VVzRQt239naFziQpAnFcKLg8H_qLJb1YcGQU99HsLFAmfUEInJZpzUtbM3s/s320/boardwalk-empire.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542860364016376898" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (2) “Community”</span> – Yep, that’s right. A new #1 for the first time ever. “Community” sadly doesn’t get the audience it should and I think its had an outstanding sophomore season (unlike “Cougar Town”). This week’s episode did an exceptionally good job at having a mysterious storyline involving night school classes that kept me as intrigued by where it was going as much as it made me laugh. The episode had plenty of references to pop culture throughout, but they weren’t as obvious as other episodes have been. Plus, the pillow and bed sheet fort Abed and Troy made could have been reason alone to elevate this to the top spot for the week. One final note, I read people felt this episode ripped off the J. Walter Weatherman storylines from “Arrested Development” but I didn’t see that at all. Double crosses and triple crosses have been in movies and TV for years, no one show can take credit for that and no show should feel like they’re ripping another off by using it.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (1) “Chuck”</span> – Well here we are. Maybe if “Chuck” had tried a little harder this week we wouldn’t be in this situation. In all honesty, this episode wasn’t bad at all. It guest starred Rob Riggle (the cop who lets the kids taser the guys in “The Hangover”) as a spy trying to get Chuck to flash again. The issue is the episode was clearly the beginning of an arc and as such I felt I had to slip it down a notch. When the arc eventually wraps up, I like the chances of “Chuck” reclaiming the top spot again.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (3) “Modern Family”</span> – I liked how Manny finally saw in himself how odd his behavior sometimes can be. Don’t get me wrong, he’s one of my favorite characters on the show. I would just think it would be lazy to not have him address how he clearly is very different from kids his age. I know they came close to doing this in Season 1 when he was supposed to hang out with Luke and instead hung out with Claire all day, but I thought this was a lot better. Now I am not saying I want this to happen with all the characters. I don’t need Gloria to all of a sudden notice how she seems to only wear clothes where her boobs bounce all over the place. No, let’s just keep that how it is. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (4) “30 Rock”</span> – It’s funny how sometimes shows seem to just take seasons off. Maybe it’s that they tried so hard and came up with a great season, and so they can slack a little bit and it’ll still be pretty good. Who knows? But what I do know is a lot of shows have trouble rebounding from that, like “The Office” and much of this year of “How I Met Your Mother”. This hasn’t been the case for “30 Rock” as I keep being more and more satisfied with what a bounce back season this has been. This week really utilized Jack’s additional duties as Head of Microwave Ovens at GE. While it was a fitting ending to Jack being a member of GE, I am sad to see the loss of an aspect of Jack’s job that had so many potential laughs.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (5) “Terriers”</span> – We finally got to see the case that caused Hank to be kicked off the police force and essentially ended his marriage. It was a particularly gruesome case, one that seemed more like something off “Law & Order: SVU” but the payoff of catching the guy was well worth it. Britt’s in a lot of trouble though for beating up Katie’s classmate. It’s going to be tough for the boys to get out of this one. Then again I thought the same thing when Landis died in Hank’s bathtub and that all worked out for everybody. Except Landis.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (9) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – I feel like I am going to be criticized for enjoying this episode more than most because of the action near the end. I realize the character building from the slower episodes that I ranked lower than this paved the way for this episode to be so good. Still, I am gonna ignore that because it makes me look semi-ignorant and just say this show is starting to fulfill the high expectations I had for when it began. I think my favorite part of the season so far was this week when the D’Allesio brother who tried to shoot Nucky asked Jimmy if he was going to kill him for mouthing off and Jimmy said “Well I wasn’t going to but now that you talked me into.” And then shoots him in the head. Awesome. Finally, was I the only one who thought that when Agent Van Alden had his first shot of whiskey he was gonna react like Doc Brown in “Back to the Future III”?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (7) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – Finally a little bit of closure to wrap up this uneven season. But there are still two episodes left and as much as Jax says he’s done listening to his father from beyond the grave, I’m sure the love letters stuffed in his bag will bring it all back again. I will say this, Salazar should kill Tara. It’s the only realistic thing to happen, but I know it won’t. I don’t want Tara gone, but she killed the guy’s girl and he has a gun and they are in the middle of nowhere. Come on.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. (11) “Fringe”</span> – Uh, oh. Peter knows he’s been sleeping with Fauxlivia, what’s gonna happen? The real shame will be if when Olivia goes back to her own world she gets rid of her red hair. That look is working for you girl!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (8) “Walking Dead”</span> – Much better than the previous two. The only reason it slipped was because of how good the shows in front of it all were. I am very excited for these last two episodes.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (6) “The Event”</span> – Here’s the deal, I don’t care about Sean and Layla. So when the plot deals with them I zone out. Plus, we found out early on in the episode that the VP was behind the assassination attempt and we knew Hal Holbrook was bad already too. So this “backstory” episode that was so supposed to reveal so much did nothing for me.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (14) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – I will never ever tire of Robin Sparkles. Nor will I ever complain about Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls being around. However, it was a bit of a stretch that she was from Canada, yet was living in New York as the organist for the Rangers. They have hockey teams in Canada, a lot of them.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (12) “Family Guy”</span> – This week’s laugh out loud moment was when Brian leaves Stewie to take a cab and Stewie sees he has no money. He then says, “Well at least it’s not raining” and some guy runs up and stabs him. Typical NYC.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (13) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – Two back to back very strong episodes are keeping this from falling any lower. I feel like the show could do every episode focused solely on Charlie’s warped mind and I wouldn’t grow tired of it. Denim chicken is a sweet band name by the way.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (10) “The Challenge: Cutthroat”</span> – This season isn’t going as well as it started as it has hit quite the lull. But Boston’s own CT is on next week! I will work you son!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (15) “The Office”</span> – Ryan’s idea was actually not bad, but obviously he doesn’t have the work ethic to follow through on it. Dwight’s whole hay ride shenanigans weren’t funny and I guess the best part of the episode was Horn-Rimmed Glasses Guy from “Heroes” being Angela’s new love interest.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (16) “Cougar Town”</span> – Eh, as previously stated this show’s not having the sophomore season I wanted or expected it to. I really don’t like Travis and I think that’s what is affecting my fondness for the show. I don’t see how these people like him. I know two of them are his parents, but even still, he sucks.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (17) “Raising Hope”</span> – I do like this show, I do. There’s just not a whole lot to say about it and I run into this problem every week. It’s about a 6 or 7 every week, so if you are looking to kill 22 minutes (you should own a DVR at this point, you’re not Amish) every week then here you go.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (18) “Glee”</span> – I have to admit, Gwyneth Paltrow REALLY impressed me. I was fully expecting all her scenes to be cringe-worthingly awkward, but she did a real good job and clearly has a stage presence I didn’t think she had. I still dislike a vast majority of the characters and now only enjoy about one song an episode.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (19) “Survivor”</span> – How is Dan still on this show???? I gotta think if he makes it to the final three you’d have to vote for him simply because he literally “survived”.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (20) “Parenthood”</span> – Why was Joel the director of a play his daughter wasn’t even in? I hope I missed that part because if I didn’t that made ZERO sense.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (21) “The League”</span> – I think this will be the last season I watch this show<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (22) “Running Wilde”</span> – Wasn’t onAbout Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-85476836659091047422010-11-19T11:29:00.002-05:002010-11-19T11:36:23.991-05:00Week 8 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkXhYe5jaTRjVfBcWEBlMVMxMCcevScJbKRnTB7AJZ01mBWq4RLiAkbfDcZlx1aXK5T4PhhXL8b7DgUoNTtAHRjInv7sKo5Xf6E1qjQ8Ug3Vg3VkCR4vpLeoO3BgUC44qSifKJkFNbDY/s1600/THE-EVENT-I-Know-Who-You-Are-30-550x366.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkXhYe5jaTRjVfBcWEBlMVMxMCcevScJbKRnTB7AJZ01mBWq4RLiAkbfDcZlx1aXK5T4PhhXL8b7DgUoNTtAHRjInv7sKo5Xf6E1qjQ8Ug3Vg3VkCR4vpLeoO3BgUC44qSifKJkFNbDY/s320/THE-EVENT-I-Know-Who-You-Are-30-550x366.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541300526029155778" /></a><br />Couple notes<br /><br />"Eastbound and Down"'s season ended, so it's gone<br /><br />"Hawaii 5-O" is gone too because I never got around to watching it<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (1) “Chuck”</span> – Wasn’t on <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (2) “Community”</span> – It had the potential to claim the top spot for at least one week with “Chuck” not on, but sadly it couldn’t capitalize. I thought the episode had a decent enough premise that kind of gotten taken too far and it was one of the rare times I didn’t like Abed commenting on the episode as if he’s aware it’s a TV show. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (3) “Modern Family”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (5) “30 Rock”</span> – This show is really firing on all cylinders was again. I know I said a few weeks ago that Kelsey Grammar’s appearance on the show might have been my favorite guest star of the year. Well, John Slattery from “Mad Men” blew him out of the water. Great episode and the show’s very worthy of being in the top 5 in the rankings.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (4) “Terriers”</span> – The show’s been leading up to Gretchen’s wedding and I thought they did a really good job of the wedding always being present without anyone really interacting with it. If that makes sense, probably doesn’t but none of you watch this show anyway so who gives a sh*t?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (9) “The Event”</span> – It’s gotten to the point where I almost feel guilty for how much I trashed this show during its first few episodes. It has made an amazing comeback for me and I thought the backstory on the Director of National Intelligence made the character infinitely more interesting and likeable. It’s becoming a much more character driven show and not so reliant on “The Event” which I think is a good thing.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (7) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – This season has been subpar and I want to think it’s because Season 2 was so good that nothing could compare. But I don’t think that’s the case. I think this slow has just been slow and dragged out the Abel-kidnapping storyline too much. I’m at the point now where I just want the last two episodes to be here so I can hope Season 4 is an improvement.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. (6) “Walking Dead”</span> – Continuing to fall here. Third episode was by far the weakest one as there were only two zombie deaths and very little action. I also thought the reunion of Rick and his family was poorly done and I felt very uncomfortable through most of it. Only three episodes left, so I am sure there is more action coming up, but the show needs to pick it up again if it wants to remain in the top 10.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (12) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – Jimmy’s back in AC and after the G man killed the witness he should have Van Alden off his ass. Good stuff, now let’s get Chalky White on the screen again and we’re in business.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (11) “The Challenge: Cutthroat”</span> – To tell you the truth, I watched the newest one two nights ago and now I don’t even remember what happened this week. I know Brandon lost and so did Melinda. And Chet got sent home because he got a concussion. So the Red team lost three people that week. Sucks to be them. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (17) “Fringe”</span> – This has probably been the best season yet and I think had it ranked so low for too long. My apologies. I know this show isn’t for everyone, but if you’ve ever been a fan of it, I’d suggest coming back because it’s at its peak right now.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (18) “Family Guy”</span> – Two straight weeks of me gasping for air at a joke during the episode. This week was when Lois knocked out the girl and pulled her head up to say, “No matter what you do for the rest of your life, you’ll always be garbage.”<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (13) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – Probably the best episode of the season if only for the extended clips of their movie “Lethal Weapon 5”.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (15) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – Much more of a classic HIMYM with everyone dealing with some pretty heavy things. Like Barney finding out who his dad is, Marshall realizing he has chosen financial stability over his ideals, and Ted possibly falling for the woman’s who trying to ruin his life. Plus all the monocle jokes were fantastic.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (8) “The Office”</span> – I think I might hate this show. I really do. It’s Dominique Wilkins on the Celtics. You’re excited because it’s his last go (like Carell’s), but he really doesn’t have anything left (like Carell’s effort this year) and you get aggravated because you think of what he use to be but isn’t anymore (like Season 2). Plus the other Celtics were just as unlikeable as Jim and Pam are.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (16) “Cougar Town”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (19) “Raising Hope”</span> – It is what it is. Just a straight 6 or 7 every week. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (20) “Glee”</span> – I like this show less and less every week. It really is what Kelly on “The Office” said it is, irresponsible writing. Storylines and character arcs go nowhere.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (22) “Survivor”</span> – Hahaha, suck it Marty<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (24) “Parenthood”</span> – Better. I will say I wouldn’t mind if the Lauren Graham character left the show though. I don’t liker he one bit.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (21) “The League”</span> – Not a great episode and I don’t find Pete’s thinking he can get hot women to be believable at all. He’s a dumpy looking dude who dresses like crap. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (23) “Running Wilde”</span> – Yeah they just need to cancel this show already. Tough break Will Arnett, but I’ll still tune in to whatever you do next, that’s my loyalty level to the Bluths.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-19145959292170950062010-11-09T14:06:00.003-05:002010-11-09T14:20:13.473-05:00Week 7 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFRtLPw7Kgszs_1pHU-7ar_Owm0t_m0xioZ9a49iXt5j4QAk3RlcOgtSyizthSPXRiYkcGfJAD4lVtqig1oXfD_WlBILTfrxEfXZ1bIBRWbZfQa94h_x21I-aWN2c8y0eM6vCorzRleg/s1600/30-Rock-Gentlemans-Intermission-Buck-Henry-and-Tina-Fey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFRtLPw7Kgszs_1pHU-7ar_Owm0t_m0xioZ9a49iXt5j4QAk3RlcOgtSyizthSPXRiYkcGfJAD4lVtqig1oXfD_WlBILTfrxEfXZ1bIBRWbZfQa94h_x21I-aWN2c8y0eM6vCorzRleg/s320/30-Rock-Gentlemans-Intermission-Buck-Henry-and-Tina-Fey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537631922492553250" /></a><br />One note, "The Challenge: Cutthroat" was added<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (1) “Chuck”</span> – What was billed as the best episode of the season kinda fell flat for me. I think it had to do with my expectations being so high for it. I still thought it was a really good episode, but I think I liked the season premiere better. Guest star was Timothy Dalton who was James Bond in a couple movies, and was the grocery store owner in “Hot Fuzz”. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (2) “Community”</span> – When Troy entered the secret garden and saw the bright light I thought what he found was going to be a lot better than a trampoline. However, the payoff of the gardener being a racist at the end was well worth it. The storyline with Abed becoming a “mean girl” didn’t really do much for me. Neither did Hilary Duff as a costar, I think we can now safely say her poor acting skills is why she wasn’t bigger.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (3) “Modern Family”</span> – I will say this now, I don’t like the idea of Phil’s business getting so bad he might lose his job. I don’t really wanna watch if that happens. It would just be too depressing because it’s not like it’s a job he hates and then he’s gonna become something that will make him happier. Also, did anyone else notice Haley’s hair was changing length throughout the episode? Lazy writing last week, lazy editing this week.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (5) “Terriers”</span> – One of the most touching stories surrounding a murdered transvestite stories I have seen in a long time. I know I say it every week, but it will really be a shame if this show doesn’t get a second season.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (6) “30 Rock”</span> – I thought this was another great episode that has continued this season’s return to the quality of Season 1 episodes. Jack telling Jonathan he had to cut off Jack’s pinky and bring it to his lawyer in order to be his mentee was one of the funnier interactions the two have had in a while. Jack’s phone call to Liz’s dad was also classic and I really enjoyed his identifying himself as a “corrupt cop, and my brothers are corrupt firemen.”<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (4) “Walking Dead”</span> – It was nowhere near as good as the pilot, but I think I still might have had enough of a Halloween hangover going to still be amped for watching zombie killing. This week’s episode didn’t disappoint with one dead guy getting an axe right to his head. Next week’s should be very interesting as the Sheriff should be seeing his son and wife, and his best friend who’s been nailing his wife, in the woods, from behind, count it! <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (7) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – A lot more action than there has been in the past few episodes which was good to see. However, just as Jax is looking like he’s close to getting his kidnapped son back in Ireland, his pregnant girlfriend gets kidnapped back home. Let’s finish one thing at a time please, this season’s been exhausting.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. (8) “The Office”</span> – I found myself comparing this episode to the Wedding from last year and I think that is a bit unfair to this episode. While it wasn’t nearly as strong as the wedding (which was the best of last season), it wasn’t terrible either. I liked the people who only came to the after-Christening for the food, and I really liked the whole sequence with Toby not being able to enter the church (although why didn’t he have an issue going to Pam & Jim’s or Phyllis’ weddings??) and then asking God why he is so mean to him. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (9) “The Event”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (15) “Eastbound and Down”</span> – See, now this is what I wanted. I get the idea of the journey throughout this season makes the return all the sweeter to watch. But I just felt like 2 or 3 of the Mexico episodes could have been taken out. I was so happy to see all the characters from last season again, and loved the scene with Cutler and Kenny in the car before he found April. HBO has picked it up for another season which would be at the least a year away, but I am hoping it won’t be all about Kenny in Myrtle Beach and then have him return to North Carolina for one episode again.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (X) “The Challenge: Cutthroat”</span> – It was requested this show be added to the list, and I actually kicked myself a little for not adding it on my own sooner. So far it hasn’t been an all-time Real World/Road Rules Challenge, but there have been some great moments. The Vinny/Big Easy Gualag was riveting. There were too big die each player had to be on. They had to roll it, without touching the ground, onto a square with the number five facing up. Now as they are doing this, they cut to one of those candid interviews and Brad says something to the effect of, “I’m looking at both these guys and they are both so locked in and concentrated and you can tell things are about to get dicey” DICEY! I swear I don’t think he meant to say it either! Highlight of the season for me so far.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (10) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – Jimmy Darmody is heading back to AC. I have to admit, at this point I only really care about Jimmy and Chalkie so this makes me happy. I feel like the characters who aren’t constantly around Nucky don’t get as much attention and this will allow for more time spent on Jimmy.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (11) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – SNL cast member Jason Sudekis guest starred this week as an old member of the gang who had been kicked out. Literally, they kicked him out of a moving car. Had some funny moments and Charlie’s job interview was a highlight, as was Newsradio’s Dave Foley’s appearance as the principal. Still, this season is continuing to be a disappointment for me and this show might just be past it’s prime.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (12) “Hawaii 5-O”</span> – I didn’t watch it. Don’t really care that I didn’t, nor do I plan to rectify that situation. Next week’s looks good though, I’ll watch that.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (13) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – I always think it’s stupid when “The Simpsons” Treehouse of Horror episode is on after Halloween, so I have to say the same about this week’s HIMYM. Now that’s out of the way, I didn’t really think this was a particularly strong episode either. I like Will Forte, and liked the first time he was on the show. I just didn’t like it the same this week. And I didn’t think you got a severance if you’re fired from your job due to incompetence? <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (14) “Cougar Town”</span> – I like anytime a show does an homage to “The Usual Suspects” and I thought it did it very well in this week’s episode.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (17) “Fringe”</span> – It’s nice to see the kid who played Iceman in the “X-Men” movies is still acting, and he even has a twin who acts too! <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (18) “Family Guy”</span> – When Peter, Joe and Quagmire drove past Meg and her friends and yelled out “Ugly bitches!”, well that was about as hard as I laughed all week.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (16) “Raising Hope”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (19) “Glee”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (20) “The League”</span> – Taco bringing a real gun to use as a starter’s pistol was pretty funny. I think he’s the only character I like. Fear Boners is a very good fantasy team name as well.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (22) “Survivor”</span> – I feel like every week you can definitely see who’s going to get voted out about 20 minutes before the show ends. There are no real surprises this season and that’s why it’s so low here.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23. (21) “Running Wilde”</span> – Wasn’t on <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">24. (23) “Parenthood”</span> – Wasn’t onAbout Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-65557864389632125002010-11-03T16:18:00.002-04:002010-11-03T16:25:03.829-04:00Week 6 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwe9m786cazWuuONbCjz99xY106nTyCxMmVstq-7Y2FaB-3DXcGek7w76i-9uv386H8v_tRrYcE3ohA4YbL6zc06n-IZ1NP8o5caPdWifo9UpZ9GHSBI_MedyUU6CPuUbkqQqcCM52hE/s1600/girl-zombie-The-Walking-Dead-AMC-tv-show-image-600x322.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwe9m786cazWuuONbCjz99xY106nTyCxMmVstq-7Y2FaB-3DXcGek7w76i-9uv386H8v_tRrYcE3ohA4YbL6zc06n-IZ1NP8o5caPdWifo9UpZ9GHSBI_MedyUU6CPuUbkqQqcCM52hE/s320/girl-zombie-The-Walking-Dead-AMC-tv-show-image-600x322.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535422114188126498" /></a><br />Couple notes:<br /><br />"Jersey Shore" is off because its season ended<br />"The Walking Dead" makes its debut<br />A bunch of shows weren't on because of the World Series<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (1) “Chuck”</span> – Still remaining at the top and even more likely to stay after I heard how next week’s episode is the best of the season. Guest stars from this week included Linda Hamilton from “The Terminator” and Robert Englund a.k.a Freddy Krueger <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (3) “Community”</span> – Last week I said this show would need to step it up in order to continue staying above “Modern Family”, and it did that 150%. I was wary when I heard they were doing a zombie themed episode as the show usually stays within reality. However, I was very pleased with the reasoning for why the students acted like zombies and even happier it didn’t turn out to be someone’s dream. I’d put this episode right behind the often mentioned paintball episode as my all-time favorites of the show.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (4) “Modern Family”</span> – It’s really a shame “Community” did such a great Halloween episode because “MF” was also so good it deserved to move up in the rankings. Cam dealing with his past Halloween made me laugh the whole time. I thought Mitchell going down the pipe was really good as well. The only thing I didn’t care for was I felt the storyline about Gloria’s accent was something likely to happen in a show’s first season and almost seemed like lazy writing to bring it up now.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (X) “Walking Dead”</span> – Here’s the deal. The rankings are based on the full season, and so far we only have the pilot of this show to go on. I realize a show about zombies isn’t for everyone and could easily get repetitive quickly. Having said that, I thought this was one of the best pilots I’d seen all year and that’s why I ranked it this high. Not sure if you saw my preview on The Alt Tab or not, but I was very excited for this show and it did not disappoint. Will it continue to rank this highly throughout its six episode season is another question?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (4) “Terriers”</span> – Another solid episode and I am really enjoying how Britt’s old criminal lifestyle keeps interfering with his attempt to go legit. I didn’t want him to meet up with Hank, become a PI, and then never be dragged into his old ways again. Plus, I liked the furthering of the story between Katie and her professor, and especially Hank’s warning to the professor at the end. Great show, too bad no one watches it.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (6) “30 Rock”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (5) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – So they finally got to Belfast and what happens? Just more waiting around. I’m really hoping the way this season ends will make all the dilly-dallying throughout this year worth it. I’m hoping that, not expecting it.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. (12) “The Office”</span> – This was a fantastic episode. The first part was great with what Stanley wouldn’t notice and it reminded me so much of when they were able to get Creed to eat the potato without him noticing in Season 2. The Michael/Darryl and Jim & Pam/Danny storylines were kind of eh, but as I long as I get some Todd Packer in me I am a happy fan. I read about and agreed with the surprise there wasn’t some type of Packer & Danny interaction about potential competition between the two.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (13) “The Event”</span> – Well look at this little engine that could. A couple weeks ago this one was in the 20’s and I was hoping it would be cancelled so I could get my time back. Let this be a lesson to all shows to always keep after it, it being my approval. The main complaint about “Lost” rip-offs has been too much focus on the mysteries and not enough on the characters. I thought this show fell into some of those traps early on, but has rebounded nicely and made a lot of these characters VERY interesting. The scenes this week of the federal agent’s past and him seeing the elderly woman he abandoned years ago was probably the best stuff the show has done this far.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (8) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – This show is kind of falling back into an old issue with me. I appreciate the detailed work that goes into the writing, the acting, the costumes and sets and the historical accuracies. I realize this is a good television show, one that will probably win many awards. I just can’t find myself super excited to watch it every week and if it weren’t for doing these rankings I’d probably save a bunch and knock them all out in a row over a weekend.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (7) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – This has been a disappointing season of “Sunny”. I had high hopea for the Halloween episode though. I had heard it had been screened at this year’s Comic Con and was received very well. I found it to be okay, but nothing special. The McPoyle’s presence is always funny and I was genuinely grossly amused at Dennis being the father of Dee’s baby. However, I thought the retelling of the night would be a lot funnier and I share the same level of apathy towards finding out who the father really is as the guys on the show did.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (9) “Hawaii 5-O”</span> – This week was about surfing. The guy who played Ryan Atwood’s dad and Hercules was on it. Check out the picture on his IMDB page. That is classic!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (11) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – I didn’t really care for the baby talk episode. I find baby talk annoying. I didn’t like the way Barney looked in Marshall’s flash forwards either. Should “Lost” get credit for the term flash forward, because I never remember hearing it until the “We have to go back!” episode?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (14) “Cougar Town”</span> – Still a disappointing sophomore effort from this show, but this episode was better than the past few weeks had been. Always nice to see Dr. Bob Kelso from “Scrubs” appearing someplace else too.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (16) “Eastbound and Down”</span> – Getting back to where I like it and I am hoping next week we get to see April, Cutler and Kenny’s brother and family in the season finale. Oh and Cleg, he might be my favorite drug addict/dealer on TV right now.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (15) “Raising Hope”</span> – I feel like this show’s kind of hit that rookie wall, but I also feel like it’s a little too soon for it to be doing that. I am going to keep watching because I like it, I just don’t laugh at it often.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (16) “Fringe”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (18) “Family Guy”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (19) “Glee”</span> – I thought the Rocky Horror Picture Show themed episode was pretty good. I still think this season has been pretty mediocre.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (20) “The League”</span> – Ghost Monkey would be a kickass band name. And the part about letting Ruxin set Pete’s lineup was one of the better fantasy related bits they’ve ever done. I think that’s totally something I’d be super confident about at first and then slowly drive myself crazy over throughout the week, and be inconsolable for months if I lost.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (21) “Running Wilde”</span> – Wasn’t on<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (22) “Survivor”</span> – Smart play by Marty and where the tribes are merging next week he might be able to stay in the game a little longer. I also think if you played a drinking game where you drank every time someone said the word “game” on the show you’d be pretty effed up by the end.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23. (23) “Parenthood”</span> – Better, not move up the ranks better, but better nonetheless.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-67353158800568433162010-10-29T15:59:00.004-04:002010-10-29T16:23:12.008-04:00Happy Halloween Bitches!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yfzCnsGj6L7C_VXj64HTzVMeb70KoiFCdIEWj-WdicynHvJpkjI_voSrTVJaWzMbiFyYT-lSI_jJlDhOGzSbx6OcfPnW1qO2KXHOlOyRvVpyqwNDIdOLanZGVOJtiHqmHcUNlf3F4Lk/s1600/BenAffleckWasTheBombInPhantoms.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yfzCnsGj6L7C_VXj64HTzVMeb70KoiFCdIEWj-WdicynHvJpkjI_voSrTVJaWzMbiFyYT-lSI_jJlDhOGzSbx6OcfPnW1qO2KXHOlOyRvVpyqwNDIdOLanZGVOJtiHqmHcUNlf3F4Lk/s320/BenAffleckWasTheBombInPhantoms.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533565768345950018" /></a><br />It's that time of year again. Time for discounted bags of candy on November 1st! My diet is going out the window once I buy a big bag of mini-Butterfingers for $1!<br /><br />Oh yeah, and it's also time for scary movies. Every cable channel this weekend will be flooded with prime viewing for any horror flick fan. "The Exorcist", "Halloween", "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" will probably be logging many hours in living rooms across the country over the holiday and rightfully so. Those movies are classics and should be viewed as such.<br /><br />But here at Really Reel Reviews we like to dive a little deeper and we like to think our readers do too. We also feel perhaps some of the R3 faithful might be looking at the blog in hopes of a holiday recommendation they maybe hadn't seen or considered watching this weekend. Well, you're in luck because I present to you Really Reel Review's first Really Spooky Halloween Movie Treat: "Phantoms"<br /><br />We don't want to give too much away as we're hoping this is a recommendation not many people have seen. The cast includes Ben Affleck (how great was "The Town" by the way? It's a good thing we were away when that came out because my review would have been borderline pornographic), Peter O'Toole, Liev Schreiber and Rose McGowan. The main plot is two sisters return to their hometown in Colorado to find all the people either dead or missing. What's really original and great about this movie is it just hits you right from the beginning. I think the first dead body is found within the first five minutes.<br /><br />Like we said, we don't want to give too much away so that's all we'll say (rhyme!). So if you're looking for a new thriller to get the hairs on your arm to rise this Halloween, then check out "Phantoms". If for no other reason than to keep the Benaissance of Affleck going.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-3086968730170016822010-10-29T15:47:00.002-04:002010-10-29T15:59:18.856-04:00Week 5 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIVBkSMUkZzvqjsiDUE1DJeiUN1KLDCTAB5y3LNfWTB1KEjNPpyMFf7qOnEG4O9SleBcFCWQHNmTgbN6GF9ytCFVYfV18an1uIQhrj795fulX9-kYDafT66aN0pdmrl1-Wf0P8_R5zvk/s1600/Terriers-duo2-thumb-580x380-219592.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIVBkSMUkZzvqjsiDUE1DJeiUN1KLDCTAB5y3LNfWTB1KEjNPpyMFf7qOnEG4O9SleBcFCWQHNmTgbN6GF9ytCFVYfV18an1uIQhrj795fulX9-kYDafT66aN0pdmrl1-Wf0P8_R5zvk/s320/Terriers-duo2-thumb-580x380-219592.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533560055564857778" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (1) “Chuck”</span> – Instead of telling you guys you should watch this every week I am just gonna start listing the guests stars so you can see they get real good ones. This week was Eric Roberts, Batista from the WWE and the tall skinny guy from “Dodgeball” and “Avatar”.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (3) “Community”</span> – I thought this was the weakest of the episodes of the season. If another one like this happens soon then it could be passed by the next show on the list very soon.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (4) “Modern Family”</span> – I wasn’t thrilled with the preschool storyline, nor was I thrilled with the idea of Tom Brady being hurt on Phil’s fantasy team. However, I really liked the Jay/Gloria plot and I thought it was Manny’s best episode yet, continuing a very solid sophomore season.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (5) “Terriers”</span> – This show’s really good and it’s getting better. It’s got great acting, great writing and the episodes are half stand alone and half serialized. I’d highly suggest people watching this week.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (6) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – I haven’t watched this week yet because next week’s is a 90 min episode and I’ve come so far that I just wanna watch them together. So yeah, deal with that.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (9) “30 Rock”</span> – After the live episode was just so-so, I thought this show continued its resurgent season. Kelsey Grammar’s guest spot might have been the funniest on any show this year too. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (7) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span>– I really liked this episode until the next day I was thinking about the stuff with the dog that wouldn’t die. I started to think it was something I’d seen before and then I realized I had, on this show. A few seasons ago they had an episode with a cat that couldn’t die. This realization really took some of the shine off this week’s episode.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. (10) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – I finally got the payback from Jimmy Darmody I was looking for and I was highly satisfied. This show is good, though it’s still not one I simply can’t wait to watch every week.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (11) “Hawaii 5-O”</span> – Another solid episode. This show is what it is, kind of like a 6th man who gives you 10 points every night. You’re usually happy with what you get, but you’re never thinking it will make it to the starting five.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (8) “Jersey Shore”</span> – Another episode of The Situation being a dick and I will be completely honest and say I can use the break from this people for a few months.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (12) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – I am going to reserve judgment on this new arc until I see where it heads. I have heard rumors though that the woman who was protesting will be a major woman in Ted’s life. Could she be the mother? I don’t know but I’m getting tired of the chicks in Ted’s life not being the mother.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (14) “The Office”</span> – I thought this was a pretty good episode, not a classic but decent. I thought it was one of Meredith’s high points and I always like when Ryan’s douche-ness is allowed to come out. I wouldn’t get too worried about the new guy being a potential Michael Scott replacement though because he has his own show on FX called “Justified” (which will debut on the rankings in February). The best thing from this week has to be the potential of a Todd Packer appearance coming soon!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (20) “The Event”</span> – I can admit it when I am wrong and I was wrong. This show is getting really good and I am beginning to look forward to it every week. I still don’t really care about the young guy and his girlfriend that much, but I am loving the plots about the “aliens”.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (13) “Cougar Town”</span> – Some good things this week, especially when they tried to convince Ellie she was just as dumb as everyone else. Still, this show isn’t nearly what it once was and Travis is kind of starting to creep me out.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (15) “Raising Hope”</span> – Wasn’t on because of baseball<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (18) “Eastbound and Down”</span> – Now this was more like the E&B of last season. I really liked Don Johnson as Kenny’s dad (although not as much as his appearance in the LeBron ad). I think the show should continue on this upswing as Kenny returns stateside.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (16) “Fringe”</span> – Wasn’t on because of baseball<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (17) “Family Guy”</span> – Was a repeat<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (19) “Glee”</span> – Wasn’t on because of baseball<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (23) “The League”</span> – Another strong episode and I can’t ignore the fact it was also another episode without a NFL guest. Also, the storyline was a lot more relatable than some of the weaker early season episodes.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (21) “Running Wilde”</span> – I absolutely hate it when networks show episodes out of order. This latest episode seemed more like it should have been the second episode and wasn’t very good either. I’ve said it before, but I think it’s just a matter of time until this show is scratched from the lineup.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (22) “Survivor”</span> – I’m glad they switched up the tribes and hopefully this season will begin to improve. At this point though, I just can’t wait for next season with a tribe led by Boston Rob and one led by Russell.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23. (24) “Parenthood”</span> – This show just isn’t as interesting as it used to be and the payoffs for the moral victories of the characters aren’t worth the crap they had to deal with to get there. That’s why it’s in last place.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-6394491245064572142010-10-29T15:35:00.002-04:002010-10-29T15:42:47.707-04:00Week 4 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh81MkYaDOtTGK_sRXcfoVqFw660Gn3NdV92Xqdcdruq1M_djJRBJbEMtJLLI9tIJRVOTJmm-SZ4sOEIzIOdYhMvo7rxi0Ox3GzKwAwlI2W9I5kIhb9UxVtOxr7TpSA7yIAuHhuQMutZ2E/s1600/episode-13-don.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh81MkYaDOtTGK_sRXcfoVqFw660Gn3NdV92Xqdcdruq1M_djJRBJbEMtJLLI9tIJRVOTJmm-SZ4sOEIzIOdYhMvo7rxi0Ox3GzKwAwlI2W9I5kIhb9UxVtOxr7TpSA7yIAuHhuQMutZ2E/s320/episode-13-don.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533555799842122690" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (1) “Chuck”</span> – I thought this was probably the weakest episode of the season, but it wasn’t close to being weak enough to knock “Chuck” off the number one slot.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (2) “Mad Men”</span> – The season finale wasn’t the best episode ever, but this season was probably the second best after Season 1. The day after a cable show ends always sucks because I know this won’t be back until next summer.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (3) “Community”</span> – There’s been a lot of comparisons of this week’s episode to the legendary paintball episode. Those comparisons are ridiculous because the paintball episode is the best sitcom episode in the last five years besides the first “Office” Christmas party. This episode based on “Apollo 13” references was still damn good and this show has created even more distance among itself and the other comedies on the list.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (5) “Modern Family”</span> – I was a little worried MF was gonna hit a sophomore slump the way “Cougar Town” has, but I have been very satisfied with this season. I thought the Phil MC storyline was great, I loved Haley saying she “invented McKenzie” and my favorite part was Mitchell thinking Cam wanted him to shave his shoulders. The bike shorts didn’t really do it for me, but I know some people enjoyed it.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (6) “Terriers”</span> – After a long story arc that covered several episodes, this week’s was more of a stand alone piece. The stellar chemistry and humor between the two leads allows the show to have really dark and depressing storylines without becoming a total bummer. This was also a perfect episode for someone who’s never seen the show to sample to see if they approve.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (7) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – I’m starting to feel like I rank this show so high because of how incredible Season 2 was. Now I’m entertained by the season and am enjoying it, but it’s been a lot slower to develop than the previous two seasons. Long story short, the main character’s son was kidnapped in last season’s finale. Through six episodes they still don’t have him back and I am nervous they won’t until this season’s finale. I’m not in favor of the storyline stretching out that far, nor did I expect it to. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (8) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – Now that was the kind of Sunny episode I was looking for. This season hasn’t been great, but if they can take the momentum from this one we could be looking and a nice comeback story.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (9) “30 Rock”</span> – They did the show live this week. I also feel weird watching live shows that aren’t SNL, like something’s wrong with my TV. It was good for a show that obviously was put on with a higher degree of difficulty, but I can’t say it was one of the funnier episodes they’ve ever done.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (10) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – I thought last week’s episode was the best of the season and so my expectations were high for this week’s episode. The result was I was pretty disappointed. Now it’s not a bad show or even a bad episode, but my attention span is not what it once was and I was looking for more action then build up and development, and I got the latter. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (13) “Hawaii 5-O”</span> – The show is just good. I can’t believe I have stuck with it but the characters are top notch, the setting is beautiful in HD and I like the storylines.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (14) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – This episode made me remember how thankful I am to not still be living in NYC. Thank you HIMYM.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (11) “Cougar Town”</span> – This ship is sinking and I am sadly going down with it after telling so many people to hop on with me. It’s just a little too real this year, when last season was more fun. Also, I never really took notice of it last year, but they drink A LOT of wine. And during the day!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (15) “The Office”</span> – H – I – R – P – E – S. We can all agree that this season is gonna focus a lot on Michael and Holly ending up together, right? Also, I read this episode might have been showcasing Andy as a potential replacement for Michael and his Sex Ed class was a trial for how he’d run the office. I don’t think I’d be super thrilled or super upset with that decision.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (12) “Raising Hope”</span> – I still like this show a lot, but I noticed this past week was more of an episode where I would say “That’s funny” rather than laugh. That’s not good.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (16) “Fringe”</span> – This show’s having a very strong third season, but I also don’t think it’s a show you can just jump right into either. So the boat’s pretty much sailed for all of you except Matt and me.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (17) “Family Guy”</span> – The NLCS was on instead. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (19) “Eastbound and Down”</span> – Yeah, I don’t know. There are funny lines, but the genius of the first season was they took this douchebag guy and made him loveable. This season he’s more annoying and tough to take a lot of the time. Plus, I miss a lot of the characters they took away and am not loving the new ones. However, that’s Nash Bridges as his dad! I am excited to see where that goes.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (18) “Glee”</span> – I’m starting to not even remember what these episodes are about. The storylines are just all over the place every week. There was a girl on girl scene between the two cheerleaders though, so it’s not like I am gonna stop watching.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (20) “The Event”</span> – This just got a full season order, which means they will make 22 or so episodes and it won’t be cancelled (if it is at all) until after this year. This show isn’t the worst thing on TV by any stretch of the imagination. But I think they made a huge mistake advertising it as “24” and “Lost” combined. There’s really nowhere to go but down from there.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (24) “Running Wilde”</span> – This show’s getting funnier, but sadly it doesn’t appear to be long for the TV world. It’s a shame, but I’ll take my 30 minutes back per week so I can spend more time on my Madden Franchise. 2012 season, Pats are 14-0, Brady has 55 TD passes and my running back is named Tiger Hawthorne. I also have a rookie WR named Sleepy Richardson who is NASTY!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (22) “Survivor”</span> – I will confess I haven’t seen this episode yet. I know they mixed up the tribes and Tyrone got voted off and I can’t say I am a fan of either of those happenings.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23. (25) “The League”</span> – Maybe the best episode of the season, still a terrible season.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">24. (22) “Parenthood”</span> – I want it to be known that I did enjoy this show’s first season. This season is just too boring and maybe a little too adult for me. I am just not enjoying watching it nearly as much and I don’t care about the plots either. That’s a bad recipe for getting enjoyment out of a TV show by the way.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-6732543636755417362010-10-29T15:17:00.003-04:002010-10-29T15:35:26.412-04:00Week 3 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTJxnngGbp_5MxCq3Vf5e80JKntoFtdw98VGs78uVAiMsb1dJLdnZ30x_2ncb-purZk16nekgHrMR3llPC0M8JC2tDjJjGzai1_eg5BUt9VP1vZ0msrHIJuBj7vwdoKjb0jqjYw0wnW4/s1600/25plmiu.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTJxnngGbp_5MxCq3Vf5e80JKntoFtdw98VGs78uVAiMsb1dJLdnZ30x_2ncb-purZk16nekgHrMR3llPC0M8JC2tDjJjGzai1_eg5BUt9VP1vZ0msrHIJuBj7vwdoKjb0jqjYw0wnW4/s320/25plmiu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533553904533904722" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (1) “Chuck”</span> – Another very enjoyable episode with some main characters returning (Big Mike) and some guest stars returning as well (Stone Cold Steve Austin and Nicole Richie). <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (2) “Mad Men”</span> – Wow, American Tobacco just got Drapered. The only downside is Draper’s badass ad was essentially the nexus of those annoyingly self righteous anti-smoking campaigns.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (4) “Community”</span> – Best comedy on TV right now, hands down. If you watched it this week and didn’t notice the Abed storyline occurring in the background, google it. Amazing what we sometimes don’t pick up on.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (3) “Jersey Shore”</span> – The Situation’s at minute 14 of his 15 minutes of fame. I have a feeling Season 3 isn’t going to be something to look forward to after this season’s limp to the finish line.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (5) “Modern Family”</span> – I was disappointed with the use of Nathan Lane as Pepper Saltzman. I thought there was a lot they could have done there and it was surprisingly underwhelming.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (7) “Terriers”</span> – Well they got out of the huge pickle they were in. Now it’ll be interesting to see how engrossing the show will be without that specific story arc. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (8) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – Oh boy. I’ve been waiting all season long for this bubble to finally burst and I feel like it’s coming in next week’s episode.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. (6) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – I don’t think this season has been one of their best. I expected a lot more from this episode and besides Charlie’s hockey wig I didn’t get much out of it.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (15) “30 Rock”</span>– I haven’t thought the past few seasons of this show have been up to the standard of the first two. But these past two weeks have been classics, especially this week. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (16) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – I was too difficult on this show last week. Clearly, they were just setting up the characters in the first three episodes and now they’re taking off. I can’t wait to see what Jimmy does to the guy who cut up his prostitute girlfriend’s face.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (9) “Cougar Town”</span> – Seems like a bit of a sophomore slump for this show. It’s still funny and I enjoy it, but it’s nowhere near the quality of last season. It’s also making me feel like kind of a jerk because I recommended it so highly to people.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (12) “Raising Hope”</span> – I don’t really laugh out loud that frequently at this show, but I just find the way most of these characters are to be very amusing. I enjoy my weekly view into their warped world.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (10) “Hawaii 5-O”</span> – Still liking this show. The only reason it continues to slip is I like other shows more.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (13) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – I thought the last episode was the best of the season so far and I liked how it set up the arc of Ted designing the building. And I also love jalapeno poppers, but with cheddar not cream cheese.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (12) “The Office”</span> – Loved Michael doing a full “Law and Order” for his audition, but other than that I wasn’t head over heels for this episode and haven’t really been for this season yet either. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (X) “Fringe”</span> – So I kept forgetting to put this in. I like the way they have set up this season where it’s almost two shows with one being in focus each week. I know Matt has voiced his displeasure with it previously, but I am into it and excited to see where it’s going.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (14) “Family Guy”</span> – Pretty much is what it is at this point. I’m laughing, just not nearly as much as I used to.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (17) “Glee”</span> – Pretty serious themes in this week’s episode. This season has been uneven to me for most of the year, but I thought their version of “What if God was One of us” was the best song they’ve done this season.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (18) “Eastbound and Down”</span> – Geez, this sh*t’s getting heavy, huh? I know it’s the character and he’s supposed to act like that, but I don’t think April would put up with the way Kenny talks to Vida and her son at the carnival. If it’s just that she’s so desperate for a man to want to be a father figure to her son then that makes this really sad because we know Kenny’s fatherly inclinations are not gonna last. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (20) “The Event”</span> – Ok, it pulled me back in a little bit with all the dead airplane passengers waking up at the end of this week’s episode. However, I’m aware it’s teetering on the brink of cancellation so I won’t be getting too invested.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (19) “Mike & Molly”</span> – Usually the last show I watch and I don’t think that’s gonna change soon. But as I keep saying, a lot worse ways to spend 30 minutes.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (21) “Parenthood”</span> – I feel like this show has just hit a comfort zone and is just plugging along. While I guess that’s kind of like real life, that’s not why I watch TV so I am not entertained.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23. (22) “Survivor”</span> – I’d like to ask the audience since I’ve only watched Season 1 and last season of this show, is this a good season? I feel like it really isn’t at all.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">24. (23) “Running Wilde”</span> – I thought this was the best episode they’ve done yet, especially the stuff with Will Arnett being so into the cake celebrations at the office. It’s too little too late though, as I’m predicting this is the next show off the rankings.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">25. (24) “The League”</span> – So last week I complained about how it’s not relatable to guys in real fantasy leagues. This week, they responded by having a scene of graphic g@y s*x. Plus, I am not happy Rafi is leaving the league (and I assume the show), he’s had some funny moments. Way to go guys.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-54116060499569514592010-10-19T11:25:00.003-04:002010-10-19T11:41:04.547-04:00Week 2 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SAoPhG390D_Dp7Fqq39QHDjLQNoP53fvSSVhNfz1cPzgfDzaLdW890VozBQDN4w-2ecjDiB1TelOFErjh6Vowkp3vG8O1UTZICQ6x87_CY0S4tJQKwyIYh5i9FfteLG7qjduQgkGL5A/s1600/NUP_141426_1786_event_main.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SAoPhG390D_Dp7Fqq39QHDjLQNoP53fvSSVhNfz1cPzgfDzaLdW890VozBQDN4w-2ecjDiB1TelOFErjh6Vowkp3vG8O1UTZICQ6x87_CY0S4tJQKwyIYh5i9FfteLG7qjduQgkGL5A/s320/NUP_141426_1786_event_main.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529780945391878770" /></a><br />FYI: "My Generation" was cancelled and thus removed from the rankings<br /><br />Previous week's ranking in parentheses<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. (1) “Chuck”</span> – I’m sorry guys, but I don’t think this one’s moving for a while<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. (3) “Mad Men”</span> – This show is very good<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. (2) “Jersey Shore”</span> – I’m surprised there isn’t more widespread love for Pauly D, he’s really the only character besides the Situation that I’d watch in a spinoff<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. (5) “Community”</span> – Matt’s boy Drew Carey made a guest appearance this week, and this show has been the most consistent comedy so far<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. (4) “Modern Family”</span> – I felt like it took a step back last week because it was pandering to the complaints all last season that we never saw Cameron and Mitchell kiss<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. (7) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – Those first two episodes weren’t really classic Sunny, but their buying of a boat this past week was more like the better episodes they’ve done. Dennis’ plan about the implications of being out on the open water and Mac’s reaction were great.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. (10) “Terriers”</span> – I think they may have gone too far with the plotline in the last episode, but it’s been an amazing start to a new series so far.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. (8) “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – Just so you know, don’t get used to this being down so low as these continue<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. (6) “Cougar Town”</span> – This one falls a little bit because the second episode was more like one of those downer “Scrubs” episodes and that’s not what I look for from this show<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. (9) “Hawaii 5-O”</span> – It’s unfair to this show that it went down one spot, but that is only because of how good “Terriers” is. I like this show a lot and as Brian knows, I don’t normally like crappy procedurals like this.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. (14) “Raising Hope”</span> – This is my favorite new comedy. The dad’s waiting for the mom to come have sex and how much information he was sharing with his son was hysterical. Matt and Aaron, the chick with the ukulele that Ted married on “Scrubs” was in this one with a dead tooth.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. (15) “The Office”</span> – Alright Office, I’m liking what I am seeing. I really liked the insight into Michael’s obsession with being a manager and Pam’s bit about becoming Office Administrator. Not top ten quality yet, but I got my eye on it. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. (16) “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – Still not getting a whole lot of laughs this season, but this week’s episode with Barney’s family was quite touching. And Barney trying to join the sing along was very enjoyable. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. (11) “Family Guy”</span> – I’m not a big fan of when the right bashes the left, or vice-versa. I just don’t care, so this week’s episode was a wasted half hour for me.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. (19) “30 Rock”</span> – The second episode was as close to classic “30 Rock” as it’s been in a long time. Jack’s video teachings for his son was just below the level of his commercial outtakes from season one. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. (13) “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – I like this show. I do. I just don’t love it. It does seem like it’s starting to pick up a bit more and I was very happy to see Omar from “The Wire” as the guy who coined the phrase “motherf*cker”.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. (17) “Glee”</span> – I liked the music a lot better in this Britney Spears themed episode. I’ve maintained for a while the Brittany whose on the show was the best dancer they had, but I didn’t know how hot she was until this one. It’s still not as good as last season though.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. (18) “Eastbound and Down”</span> – Surprisingly no movement with this show despite the return of Stevie Janowski. I do like the owner of the baseball team though. Quick question though, doesn’t his team suck? So how is a closer supposed to help turn them around?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. (20) “Mike & Molly”</span> – Do you have a half hour to kill? You could do far worse than this show. It’s just pleasant.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. (12) “The Event”</span> – This show is one part “Flashforward”, one part “V” and one part seasons 2-4 of “Prison Break”. That’s not a good thing. AT ALL.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. (24) “Parenthood”</span> – If Julie and I didn’t watch this together, then I’d probably stop watching it.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. (21) “Survivor”</span> – Goodbye Jimmy Johnson. Hello Jimmy T, why didn’t you tell me from the beginning you were a Pats season ticket holder. What do you think of the Moss deal?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23. (25) “Running Wilde”</span> – Better. Still bad, but better.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">24. (23) “The League”</span> – This show is bad. Here’s the deal, the chemistry between the characters is good enough where they don’t have to constantly come back to them being put in ridiculous fantasy football related scenarios. It’s supposed to be about a regular fantasy league. Well first off, it’s eight teams, let’s change that right now. Instead of 2 out of towners, have 4, no big deal. Second, we’ve been playing fantasy football since we were in high school. How many NFL players have we met? If I’m not mistaken, I don’t believe it’s a new one every week. Show’s bad.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-10396995520495940412010-10-19T11:13:00.002-04:002010-10-19T11:25:01.885-04:00Week 1 TV Power Rankings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0yYdnjNB-CSNBFU4Z8BdosSztRg4oHFVizLBPMgucLAaxsthctlhz7UeYgwPMAfLAGM4iYX1IfIt0I2ST9cMvw8JMlwh8jQdDeFyGaMlPeckx5X9rgozAhD7JAYzABcjQEw3Cku_B08/s1600/425.ad.JerseyShore.120909.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0yYdnjNB-CSNBFU4Z8BdosSztRg4oHFVizLBPMgucLAaxsthctlhz7UeYgwPMAfLAGM4iYX1IfIt0I2ST9cMvw8JMlwh8jQdDeFyGaMlPeckx5X9rgozAhD7JAYzABcjQEw3Cku_B08/s320/425.ad.JerseyShore.120909.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529776081553058818" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. "Chuck"</span> – A very enjoyable return to these characters with a good amount of laughs and action<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. "Jersey Shore"</span> – Starting to get a little annoyed with a fight being advertised for the episode and then it doesn’t start until 10:57 and all the good stuff is the following week<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. "Mad Men"</span> – I realize most of you don’t watch this, but it was a REALLY good episode and Jon Hamm was better than he was in “The Town”<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. "Modern Family"</span> – “I don’t think I’d be a very inspiring disabled person”, “That was my Vietnam, and I was in Vietnam” and “Angela Lansbury was the Grand Marshall. Good time she wrote.” made this my #1 comedy of the week<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. "Community"</span> – This is the funniest show you’re not watching and Betty White’s guest role this week was surprisingly understated.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. “Cougar Town”</span> – They play a movie game where you describe the plot of combining two movies with before and after titles. For example, Brian and I were playing and emailed each other almost the exact same clues for “Knocked Up in the Air” on Friday.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”</span> – Good to see they tied up that whole Dennis being married thing in one week<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. “Sons of Anarchy”</span> – Just so you know, don’t get used to this being down so low as these continue<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. “Hawaii 5-O”</span> – Shocked at how much I enjoyed this. Will I continue to watch it on a weekly basis is the real question?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. “Terriers”</span> – Another solid episode from this show with one of the better, “Wait, what the hell was that?” endings I’ve seen in a long time. There’s still plenty of time to get into this show.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. “Family Guy”</span> – It wasn’t close to the funniest episodes they’ve ever done and the only really funny thing was the running joke about Quagmire’s date. The murder mystery aspect was really well done though and it was an entertaining and enjoyable way to start the season.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. “The Event”</span> – Am I intrigued? My goodness yes. Do I want “The Event” to be more than the plane disappearing? Yes. Do I think that’s what “The Event” was? Yes.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. “Boardwalk Empire”</span> – This show is amazingly written, wonderfully acted and beautifully shot. However, when I watch it I get the feeling I am only watching it because I’ve read how great it is and I don’t wanna miss out. Of course that could quickly change too.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. “Raising Hope”</span> – If you liked “My Name is Earl” you’ll like this. I liked “Earl” and they grill hamburgers on shopping carts turned sideways, so I’m in.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. “The Office”</span> – I think it’s so low because I’m still disappointed with the non-Wedding episodes of last season. There’s a lot of potential with Dwight owning the building though. Creed’s Twitter rant was good too, but I didn’t like the Luke stuff. I also don’t like Erin dating my old roommate from NYC Gabe.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. “How I Met Your Mother”</span> – We’re supposed to be getting answers and it still feels like we’re just getting dicked around. Long shot prediction: That’s Barney and Robin’s wedding that Ted is the best man for.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. “Glee”</span> – I like this show when I know the songs, the last two songs were ones I had never heard so I fast forwarded through them. I did like the Lady Gaga song in the ladies room and when Finn told Rachel he had to convince the rest of the Glee Club to not give her a Code Red.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. “Eastbound and Down”</span> – I think the next episodes are going to be funnier, at least I hope so. This one was just too much set up for me to rank it higher, but I do think him playing on the Mexican team has lots of potential. I also always enjoy Kenny just randomly flipping people off.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. “30 Rock”</span> – Matt Damon was funny, but there’s so much stuff that is just ugh, like the Tracy and Kenneth stuff.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. “Mike & Molly”</span> – an enjoyable 30 minutes, and will also be the first thing erased from my DVR if it gets too full<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21. “Survivor”</span> – I’m not sure I like ANY of these people except Jimmy Johnson. And JJ’s whole strategy of saying no one’s gonna give me a million dollars is genius.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22. “My Generation”</span> – There’s potential for a good show here with characters that could be likeable and interesting. I have no hope this show will realize this potential and spent most of the hour just feeling bad for Todd from “Wedding Crashers”<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23. “The League”</span> – Are we sure we just didn’t get overly excited about a show about fantasy football here?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">24. “Parenthood”</span> – Boring, boring week. Though I read this week’s is supposed to be really good<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">25. “Running Wilde”</span> – Not giving up hope here yet, not expecting much of a turnaround either thoughAbout Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-52639039993859501642010-10-19T11:09:00.002-04:002010-10-19T11:13:46.057-04:00Hey Remember Us!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydjlIgnO9qa-CcEiIr9zO4k12Ujy-Xwvr9loF2r3W-ti-npePox07vRs43vTpQIbh0jsv-T9eVF9_H4qwXVFQoSreJfDoMUiQI9WvHqV0Iw0OjadWrbpVxlFdw2LxbbQqCVVmAAJkzI8/s1600/RDV+We%27re+Back.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydjlIgnO9qa-CcEiIr9zO4k12Ujy-Xwvr9loF2r3W-ti-npePox07vRs43vTpQIbh0jsv-T9eVF9_H4qwXVFQoSreJfDoMUiQI9WvHqV0Iw0OjadWrbpVxlFdw2LxbbQqCVVmAAJkzI8/s320/RDV+We%27re+Back.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529775575048016290" /></a><br />So we have been away for a while and I can't say when we'll definitely return to active blogging and podcasting, but I hope it's soon.<br /><br />With that being said, I have started writing weekly television power rankings for my friends and thought I should share them with the masses of 3R fans who are clamoring for any content we can provide for them.<br /><br />I am gonna put up all four right now so you can go back and see where my thought process has gone. I have to believe you're interested in things like that or my self esteem is just going to go in a nose dive and I don't have your weekly calls to the podcast to bring me back up.<br /><br />Hope everyone's doing well and enjoy the rankings!About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-35128748262369233432010-05-20T11:21:00.004-04:002010-05-20T13:23:29.551-04:00What's next for Megan Fox<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFbhM2ahxMJX1unU_EDKXXjG-OgxuMXtV-egGU7HuPLujFRtA0xdR-pOvy_VoQ1vpGdwFe250RJjcvMk_c8LGDTemLoIUro9h232Lm3GCfzVFxhP17Id7NQAEGrzh7XdqDkHTQXv0gek/s1600/megan-fox-transformers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFbhM2ahxMJX1unU_EDKXXjG-OgxuMXtV-egGU7HuPLujFRtA0xdR-pOvy_VoQ1vpGdwFe250RJjcvMk_c8LGDTemLoIUro9h232Lm3GCfzVFxhP17Id7NQAEGrzh7XdqDkHTQXv0gek/s400/megan-fox-transformers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473404101440077154" /></a><br />Last night we reported on the podcast how Megan Fox will not be in the third Transformers movie (I almost wrote film and then I realized that's like calling the Twilight books novels). As Fox normally found herself in skimpy outfits and compromised positions in the two previous movies, this is terrible news for perverts everywhere. Now I won't lie and say I don't find Megan Fox attractive, unless my girlfriend is near me. She isn't, right? Now it's 11am, she's at work, we're good. Instead I am more interested in discussing where both of these franchises, Transformers and Megan Fox's body, go from here. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Megan Fox's career</span><br /><br />Ever since Fox burst onto the scene it's painfully obvious she wants to be Angelina Jolie. However, you can't just get similar tattoos as someone and think that will also translate their talent. If that were so, I'd have arm sleeves like LeBron, and maybe a tramp stamp like Parvati from Survivor just for the added sex appeal. Sadly for Fox all that she shares with Jolie is an ability to stir a hatred among everyday women to the point they ignore Fox's obvious beauty (saying it's trashy) and holding it against anyone who does find the starlet attractive. <br /><br />As for her career, well it hasn't really flushed out yet has it? Aside from starring in the two Transformers movies she's only starred in two other films, as the titular character in "Jennifer's Body" and a supporting role in "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People". Now think about that for a second. For the past three years, how long have you gone without seeing a magazine cover or something on the internet with Megan Fox? A couple days? And yet she's been in four movies in three years!<br /><br />Her next two roles are in "Jonah Hex" with Josh Brolin and "Passion Play" with Mickey Rourke. You know what those two movies sound like five years ago? Straight to DVD. Take away "No Country for Old Men" and "The Wrestler" and those movies are winding up in the $5 bin at a gas station. <br /><br />Whether it was Fox's decision to leave or not, I think her comments about Michael Bay kind of sealed her fate. I don't think she would have ever been a long term star if she'd stayed, but it would have been nice to pick up one more paycheck. Now I think we've just gotten closer to Fox and Brian Austin Green starring in Mr. and Mrs. Smith II. What a film that will be.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Transformers</span><br /><br />As I already stated, the first "Transformers" was great in theaters, but the movie really declined after additional viewings. The second movie picked up right where it left off as it was almost as bad as "Batman and Robin" and the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" combined. So far on this third movie they are batting .500 by getting rid of the racist Transformers (RRR Award Winners) but also cutting Fox loose. I don't see where these movies can go from here and I fully expect to skip this next venture. However, as a marketing tool, I think Fox was the biggest live action star attached to these movies and losing her could prove to be a lot worse for these movies than Michael Bay thinks.<br /><br />I don't know or care who to believe in this rift. Either Megan Fox quit or she was fired. But the end game is going to be bad for both parties in my opinion.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-54567352772152806742010-02-20T16:46:00.021-05:002010-02-21T10:09:58.790-05:005 Reasons "UP" Should Not Be Nominated For Best PictureFor a list of the nominees for Best Picture or any other category, <a href="http://oscar.go.com/nominations/nominees?cid=10_oscars_landingCallout_nominations" target=_"blank">click here</a>. And make sure to email us so you can take part in our <b>Pick 'Em Oscar Tournament</b> where you can win great prizes!<br /><br />Alright, enough PSA. Let's get into this...<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4Bd7RpXBZI/AAAAAAAAALo/HAuNei6eEZc/s1600-h/UP.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4Bd7RpXBZI/AAAAAAAAALo/HAuNei6eEZc/s320/UP.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440451622794102162" /></a><br /><b>1. Lack of Imagination:</b> So <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/" target=_"blank">Up</a></em> is about widower Carl Frederickson who is forced to leave his home. Instead, he ties a bunch of balloons to his house and sets flight to the mystical and mysterious land of Paradise Falls. Early in the movie this is supposed to be the land from another time, almost like stepping into Jurassic Park if you will. But when Carl gets there the “beast” he encounters is an overgrown emu with the features of Toucan Sam. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4BdiXzIaqI/AAAAAAAAALg/ihP94ek4hCY/s1600-h/Kevin_UP.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4BdiXzIaqI/AAAAAAAAALg/ihP94ek4hCY/s320/Kevin_UP.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440451194948971170" /></a> I mean seriously? I bet if we went to the home of director Pete Docter we’d see this lackluster beast on his fridge.It’s probably some KinderCare color-by-number concoction of his kid. I can’t believe <em>this</em> is the best they could come up with. Even in movies like <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389790/" target=_"blank">Bee Movie</a></em> or <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120623/" target=_"blank">A Bug’s Life</a></em> there is a since of greater imagination and creativity; the viewer is presented with much a more interesting world…and those movies aren’t even that good! <br /><br /><b>2. One Trick Pony:</b> I’ve said on our <b><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews" target=_"blank">podcast</a></b> before that there is nothing wrong with a one trick pony as long as that pony does the trick very well. <em>Up</em> is a pony that needs to be put down. Ugh, this movie – which is supposed to be comedic, especially for children – isn’t very funny. Sure there are the classic physical humor spots where the character gets whacked in the face or flung across the jungle, but isn’t that what bad movies like <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790604/" target=_"blank">Deck the Halls</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388419/" target=_"blank">Christmas with the Kranks</a></em> are for? Comedically speaking this film falls flat. And it’s not unfunny because it’s overly dramatic; it is unfunny because the writing team decided to put their eggs in one basket. And that basket was this punch line by the talking dogs: Squirrel! Ok, 1st time = funny. 2nd time = a little forced. 3rd time on = what the hell are we doing here?<br /><br /><b>3. Best Animated of the Year:</b> Since <em>Up</em> is the only animated movie nominated the first question you naturally ask yourself is “is up the best animated movie of the year?” If you saw <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/12/10/fantastic-mr-fox" target=_"blank">The Fantastic Mr. Fox</a></em> or even the somewhat confusing, mildly disturbing <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/" target=_"blank">Coraline</a></em> then you would expect <em>Up</em> to be sensational. It isn’t. You know how rollercosters make you wait 60seconds while they trudge you up the track and then you get that 3minutes of awesome? Yeah, this movie is the exact opposite. The first 5minutes are amazing, beautiful, uplifting, and heartbreaking. The rest of the movie is a slow crawl to the city of Boredomstanzia. But I’m glad that the Academy is deciding to recognize animation among the year’s best movies, however that recognition should have gone to “Mr. Fox”…now if we could only convince them that comedies and Superhero/villain movies need to be considered as well. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4BjZVs-sWI/AAAAAAAAAL4/EhKJD1NUTwA/s1600-h/Dug_UP.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 110px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4BjZVs-sWI/AAAAAAAAAL4/EhKJD1NUTwA/s200/Dug_UP.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440457636837241186" /></a><b>4. Dug:</b> First, I don’t know why his name is listed and spelled like this, but whatever. Second, I can’t stand this dog. Dug is the….well….let’s just say that he makes Jessica Simpson look like Einstein (are Jessica Simpson jokes still funny?). You know how Ashton Kutcher as Kelso on “That 70’s Show” on can be stupid and it’s somewhat funny.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4BjE8BUHMI/AAAAAAAAALw/F47bLGzgUxI/s1600-h/Leo_Tommy+Chong.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 110px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S4BjE8BUHMI/AAAAAAAAALw/F47bLGzgUxI/s320/Leo_Tommy+Chong.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440457286345825474" /></a> But then Tommy Chong came on as the exceptionally dumb stoner and got more and more airtime and it was just unfunny and sad? Yeah, that’s Dug. He’s too dumb and annoying to be funny...and his voice! He’s the pits.<br /><br /><b>5. Seriously?!:</b> Did anyone in the Academy see <em><a href="http://reallyreelreviews.blogspot.com/2009/10/keepin-it-really-reel-award-october-09.html" target=_"blank">Away We Go</a></em>???!! I know I’ve talked about that movie way too much (and it won my <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2010/01/07/a-look-back-a-look-ahead-2009-and-2010" target=_"blank">2009 Really Reels for favorite movie of the year</a>), but I will defend it as one of the best movies of the year until someone can convincingly prove otherwise. Watch it. Even if you think I give it too much credit you’ll agree that it could take down <em>Up</em> 9 days a week.<br /><br />I know people may say I am judging this movie too harshly because it’s a children’s movie. Ok, I get that. But if there is a guy who loves these “children’s” movies it’s me. I see most of them and in the last few years some of my favorite <b>MOVIES</b> include: <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/" target=_"blank">The Incredibles</a></em>, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/" target=_"blank">Wall-E</a></em>, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327084/" target=_"blank">Over the Hedge</a></em>, and pretty much any <em><a href="http://www.wallaceandgromit.com/" target=_"blank">Wallace & Gromit</a></em> out there. C'mon, I think we can all agree <em>Up</em> is overrated and does not deserve to be be nominated for Best Picture...even on a list of 10 nominees.<br /><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><br /><div class='addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style' expr:addthis:title='data:post.title' expr:addthis:url='data:post.url'><a href='http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=reallyreelreviews' class='addthis_button_compact'>Share</a><br /><span class='addthis_separator'>|</span><a class='addthis_button_facebook'></a><a class='addthis_button_myspace'></a><a class='addthis_button_google'></a><a class='addthis_button_twitter'></a><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=reallyreelreviews"></script><br /><!-- AddThis Button END --></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-83485560096073418922010-01-20T21:42:00.013-05:002010-01-20T22:38:16.821-05:00Fanmail!: Avatar & Sherlock HolmesIn our show reviewing <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2010/01/21/leap-year-and-guy-approved-chick-flicks" target=_"blank">Leap Year</a></em> we decided to respond to a recent fan e-mail disputing our reviews of <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/12/31/avatar-sherlock-holmes" target=_"blank">Sherlock Holmes</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/12/31/avatar-sherlock-holmes" target=_"blank">Avatar</a></em>. Where we saw the former to be a much more enjoyable and respectable film, our loyal fan saw the overused and mundane. This fan felt <em>Avatar</em> was a bold and daring film that needed to be made and seen.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S1fDukNpUKI/AAAAAAAAALY/KRepZpFJ_eo/s1600-h/Sherlock+Holmes.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S1fDukNpUKI/AAAAAAAAALY/KRepZpFJ_eo/s320/Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429023080580731042" /></a><br />In our show we address this email as we felt it would not be done justice by replying in written word. On our podcast we read portions of the email, but it too was not given due justice. So, we have posted it here on our blog for you to read the points and counterpoints. Agree, disagree, or have thoughts of your own...it doesn't matter. <b>Read. Listen. Respond.</b> Email or Call In to discuss LIVE.<br /><br /><br /><b>--------------------BEGIN SUBMISSION-------------------</b><br /><br />I have to admit that I've been harvesting some negative thoughts...since your <em>Avatar</em> show for thinking <em>Sherlock Holmes</em> was better than <em>Avatar</em>.<br /> <br /><em>Sherlock Holmes</em>.....more like Borelock Holmes!<br /> <br />Borelock Holmes was like every movie E-V-E-R made!! <em>Avatar</em> was new and daring in soooo many different ways and touched on a lot of social issues that made people think.<br /> <br />What did you get from Borelock Holmes?<br /> <br />2 and a half hours of boooooring ***t we've already seen before although I will say that the character of Sherlock Holmes was new and fresh......oh... a ...no, wait, nope he's been around since <b>EIGHTEEN-EIGHTY- SEVEN</b>! I get it, I get it, he's really good at solving problems and his narcissism and self-destructive behaviors get him and his side kick doctor into trouble over and over blah blah-blah, blah-blah...I'd rather watch an episode of "House" at least I know he'll actually solve the mystery and it'll be over in an hour...And on top of boooring us with old plots and fight sequences they have the audacity to set it up for a sequel!!<br /> <br />Now <em>Avatar</em>, talk about a movie with balls.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S1fClDlRaPI/AAAAAAAAALI/eg5twlLTGIs/s1600-h/Avatar.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S1fClDlRaPI/AAAAAAAAALI/eg5twlLTGIs/s320/Avatar.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429021817691007218" /></a><br /> <br /><em>Avatar</em> was new and exciting, the fact that it was in 3-D alone make it SOOOO much better than Borelock Holmes. <em>Avatar</em> took risks, provoked thoughts and feelings. Not to mention, it touched on a lot of social issues our society is struggling with <b><i>TODAY</b></i>.<br /> <br />The technology was not just a gimmick but genius. The Na'vi Avatars resembled so much like the humans that it wasn't a far leap to Pandora. You didn't have to be a Trekkie or Si-Fi nut for the movie to take you there. Well done, James.<br /> <br />Let's talk about risks, the scene when Na' vi chick picks up Jake Sully's cripple human body instantly takes where Benjamin Button was too scared to go. <br /><br />Now talk about a plot! Simple I know but powerful none the less. The Sky People destroy their own planet of natural green resources so they set out to find Pandora, and they bring death and destruction to people that they've deemed primitive, inferior or just plain different than them because they stand in the way of their riches. They set out to destroying cultures, sciences, and knowledge (secretly more advanced than their own) all because they are too greedy and too stubborn to come together on their own planet to fix their own problems!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S1fDi6LOIzI/AAAAAAAAALQ/3fdeKdRHCCo/s1600-h/Neytiri+and+Jake+Sully.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/S1fDi6LOIzI/AAAAAAAAALQ/3fdeKdRHCCo/s320/Neytiri+and+Jake+Sully.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429022880317711154" /></a> ....sound familiar? I know, I know it was not a subliminal correlation but that is the genius in it all; is it based on our past, present or Future? In the movie we - I mean the sky people - can see their flaws but we still can't seem to fix it. It made me angry, it made me frustrated, it made me think. On Pandora where all is connected, loved, and respected; Over laying themes of cycles of energy; not only choosing but being chosen, you find yourself thinking that the Na'vi made sense and it made me feel good and right, so much so that every time Sully went back to his human body you instantly felt down and agitated and couldn't wait to get back to Pandora. It was intended and it worked.<br /> <br />You call it simple; I call it art imitating life....<br /> <br />I don't want to be the Sky People anymore, do you?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-20821081758708889392010-01-07T14:09:00.037-05:002010-01-08T09:59:32.671-05:002009 Really Reels!In case you missed last night's podcast, Really Reel Reviews gave out its 2009 Really Reels for some of the best performances and movies of the year. (Listen to the award show <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews">here</a>)<br /><br />But for all the lazy fans of Really Reel Reviews, here's a list of the big winners from last night!<br /><br /><strong>Best Female Performance</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPvc0hgQ1QxkXHpvM4YBHg5_s7_gT7z86f93gFpArAgeD3dj1f_rwBIk-csLUoWYXZi0OtWhzfE3495Of_lU4j2nlcrtZjTgOF9-spINrCi6cZXntlyif8oNKZOAWDAcaCQWhq42IlAg/s1600-h/precious_gabby.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPvc0hgQ1QxkXHpvM4YBHg5_s7_gT7z86f93gFpArAgeD3dj1f_rwBIk-csLUoWYXZi0OtWhzfE3495Of_lU4j2nlcrtZjTgOF9-spINrCi6cZXntlyif8oNKZOAWDAcaCQWhq42IlAg/s200/precious_gabby.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424097899977814978" /></a><br />ERIC - Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe as "Precious Jones" in <em>Precious</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjoUV-ZG-jdXAUdcitvWqdxnaN_Ycf5-Me9MXTaR4ccy9FGSEA4motL1MEGvGIVWhh42NdhAPaxalZWoVqpeBOzu91iLKdOLiIug8UMfX_Nfp0CmTEH0fVf-2Uo7QsHiq2R7KOXFmMCI/s1600-h/monique-precious.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjoUV-ZG-jdXAUdcitvWqdxnaN_Ycf5-Me9MXTaR4ccy9FGSEA4motL1MEGvGIVWhh42NdhAPaxalZWoVqpeBOzu91iLKdOLiIug8UMfX_Nfp0CmTEH0fVf-2Uo7QsHiq2R7KOXFmMCI/s200/monique-precious.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424097984432447474" /></a><br />TERRY - Monique as "Mary Jones" in <em>Precious</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Best Male Performance</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh3q7en8VRnsr968br15GyhI6YAz9gwF1EAsd6x9C-4K-3VqajpSXXL8v6mXz5pxqSBQCqUMmUCBOI92qQZV1SmiaTO24EJWh7V98Fv4oYOItplhwkYW9wPv6YhpajdZCwqYXusgWrZ7g/s1600-h/sherlock-holmes-movie-robertdowney-boxing-thumb-400x266-31757.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424085897038100706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh3q7en8VRnsr968br15GyhI6YAz9gwF1EAsd6x9C-4K-3VqajpSXXL8v6mXz5pxqSBQCqUMmUCBOI92qQZV1SmiaTO24EJWh7V98Fv4oYOItplhwkYW9wPv6YhpajdZCwqYXusgWrZ7g/s200/sherlock-holmes-movie-robertdowney-boxing-thumb-400x266-31757.jpg" /></a><br />ERIC - Robert Downey Jr. as "Sherlock Holmes" in <em>Sherlock Holmes</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zu8EXmv_qSyAY94qRTZyeHaKXTAC8SNbgWrSN0dz-nozYE57DvKErYp3tZo63YAAqt5EWK_1PwySWi3nWADQzg0HMcZlvl18y0HsbBI3n5XVa1Ol8aLqNSbdchF4A-F18CgbcY2qrjk/s1600-h/inglourious-3a.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 132px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424086223318445378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zu8EXmv_qSyAY94qRTZyeHaKXTAC8SNbgWrSN0dz-nozYE57DvKErYp3tZo63YAAqt5EWK_1PwySWi3nWADQzg0HMcZlvl18y0HsbBI3n5XVa1Ol8aLqNSbdchF4A-F18CgbcY2qrjk/s200/inglourious-3a.jpg" /></a><br />TERRY - Christoph Waltz as "Col. Hans Landa" in <em>Inglourious Basterds</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Most Memorable Line/Best Catchphrase</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9-YKtB-Cfj5fDWEiw7lMtU10R_4cdlvQgoWh9Vk8Zrsqw6tNZkXZk9U5m5RsWH8ciMILgnxXsaI5soS9iTZFoJc5df7hUAPoq3FR0duILh-IQmW2SqMANcfKXVhyJ-A1Bh0RW9u93jM/s1600-h/bruce_greenwood.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 136px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424090361003450002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9-YKtB-Cfj5fDWEiw7lMtU10R_4cdlvQgoWh9Vk8Zrsqw6tNZkXZk9U5m5RsWH8ciMILgnxXsaI5soS9iTZFoJc5df7hUAPoq3FR0duILh-IQmW2SqMANcfKXVhyJ-A1Bh0RW9u93jM/s200/bruce_greenwood.jpg" /></a><br />ERIC - "Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mothers and yours. I dare you to do better." said by "Christopher Pike" in <em>Star Trek</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCgMWlpR0uZEmD-otldcaWYPhZpS6X3SKqC8s2ovfQwIu0kQUAMUyUmZAmwXFLG5P9YZFEkcq0xtST_GyF1tyc7H2vMyykzV9dnbvFBDpdJrg-9FB6BAmA8kOVzMP4Y7f2aGwuHYnSg0/s1600-h/the-hangover-20090521021947132_640w.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424093528630504466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCgMWlpR0uZEmD-otldcaWYPhZpS6X3SKqC8s2ovfQwIu0kQUAMUyUmZAmwXFLG5P9YZFEkcq0xtST_GyF1tyc7H2vMyykzV9dnbvFBDpdJrg-9FB6BAmA8kOVzMP4Y7f2aGwuHYnSg0/s200/the-hangover-20090521021947132_640w.jpg" /></a><br />TERRY - "Classic" said by "Alan Garner" in <em>The Hangover</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Best/Worst Adaptation</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U9i0dCSuxfdqKuOlMRugCseOk4vqNuKXTFWbT9h7fTHkumMu9stW7rLXKMj5YntMOkXH4HD0ryDIsuC3OSzGThCTz7a1WRRRh_e2C72jv14mcP3j_OBV0ohBg1ctABm6PHVA8MMEKbI/s1600-h/the_blind_side_movie_poster-sandra_bullock.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424092607838534866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U9i0dCSuxfdqKuOlMRugCseOk4vqNuKXTFWbT9h7fTHkumMu9stW7rLXKMj5YntMOkXH4HD0ryDIsuC3OSzGThCTz7a1WRRRh_e2C72jv14mcP3j_OBV0ohBg1ctABm6PHVA8MMEKbI/s200/the_blind_side_movie_poster-sandra_bullock.jpg" /></a><br />ERIC (Best) - <em>The Blind Side</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL5BGPt-ZetmMMR5C4eKmK8OxkxeNNF_csGg6BIsO1xRg7fJa6jz5-uipEWE2dt0SQ-pewYAfRirM5-dxh63X-3yjUD9far1Jqyu-iWX7xtMq2C8ee87RImTjbRiInQ51oTwyx8jXxso/s1600-h/watch-angels-and-demons-movie-online-streaming-free-image1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424092893244930162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL5BGPt-ZetmMMR5C4eKmK8OxkxeNNF_csGg6BIsO1xRg7fJa6jz5-uipEWE2dt0SQ-pewYAfRirM5-dxh63X-3yjUD9far1Jqyu-iWX7xtMq2C8ee87RImTjbRiInQ51oTwyx8jXxso/s200/watch-angels-and-demons-movie-online-streaming-free-image1.jpg" /></a><br />TERRY (Worst) - <em>Angels and Demons</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Favorite Cameo</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgn0TQBl1XlbvaSWUWLJOhYa5JcWHQIHtwF6y3XbS5PyKsXb-HF1fQYLLeXgI3EvoZeubSgpULGJIDCSXh4hqpxjA8_45j7zYvkH1qcT0Deh-u0s1ebgVmMlNLmRtGn1VVUeZ_DecxW4/s1600-h/20090703-070209_funnypeople_eminem.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 120px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424095284137249218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgn0TQBl1XlbvaSWUWLJOhYa5JcWHQIHtwF6y3XbS5PyKsXb-HF1fQYLLeXgI3EvoZeubSgpULGJIDCSXh4hqpxjA8_45j7zYvkH1qcT0Deh-u0s1ebgVmMlNLmRtGn1VVUeZ_DecxW4/s200/20090703-070209_funnypeople_eminem.jpg" /></a><br />ERIC - Eminem in <em>Funny People</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6PzvhlqAYJ7SgBFviuR6NR0a4PKwKrGY5PMuqOvI196mkOhs-EVEEV_KlxTcGDFegQXPkSa2X37Y61dChbP1rCX54sqBnKfqg6g8ZeySn4AhJokYxVaaWSCJXhBlH-gFllzNmvd-K0Y/s1600-h/180px-Richard_Barnett.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6PzvhlqAYJ7SgBFviuR6NR0a4PKwKrGY5PMuqOvI196mkOhs-EVEEV_KlxTcGDFegQXPkSa2X37Y61dChbP1rCX54sqBnKfqg6g8ZeySn4AhJokYxVaaWSCJXhBlH-gFllzNmvd-K0Y/s200/180px-Richard_Barnett.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424096572589337026" /></a><br />TERRY - Tyler Perry in <em>Star Trek</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Worst Movie</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFOeiPltGCRymcGxhBjiO83ltq1z3gwAQDttxXheEZJGYAfFHEO6R7YFJyv0x4kUM-bQlIH1CXp8xa_mU9QmJ_nBOwRb8RdvAQ0Ow1G0XqjZ59IKWjCPw3zj70ZcvdiY7eh3N4Z4AK8I/s1600-h/the_girlfriend_experience_poster-337x500.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFOeiPltGCRymcGxhBjiO83ltq1z3gwAQDttxXheEZJGYAfFHEO6R7YFJyv0x4kUM-bQlIH1CXp8xa_mU9QmJ_nBOwRb8RdvAQ0Ow1G0XqjZ59IKWjCPw3zj70ZcvdiY7eh3N4Z4AK8I/s200/the_girlfriend_experience_poster-337x500.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424099679986033170" /></a><br />ERIC - <em>The Girlfriend Experience</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93SE8uCCWgJzJGJdRHNCR4oVTdn55ZU4vUyNQ3kRWOvUDOdsXKelP5ZGBaG81tZ4tLaYdhp2v3nElFHQILoJ-MmoWL32-72GP_W26hkDQWZzUbKv_HTwYmxemOQa4t1AWEJ9n7jK5fxs/s1600-h/TheCollector_poster_03.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93SE8uCCWgJzJGJdRHNCR4oVTdn55ZU4vUyNQ3kRWOvUDOdsXKelP5ZGBaG81tZ4tLaYdhp2v3nElFHQILoJ-MmoWL32-72GP_W26hkDQWZzUbKv_HTwYmxemOQa4t1AWEJ9n7jK5fxs/s200/TheCollector_poster_03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424099958311149682" /></a><br />TERRY - <em>The Collector</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Worst Sequel</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNND6SKCLsVyfBHv7lpbAVlD07Ow-qoRNim4t6QIJJExSufftVz_2IjmDXfYJp_eEAbrx9Hd7J30WU6IP3S6TLfQli6mpTbkWC21yHYJwbNGHL47uHbXTZ8OcgN-hpGmxVMrffLydPpnw/s1600-h/transformers2-6.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNND6SKCLsVyfBHv7lpbAVlD07Ow-qoRNim4t6QIJJExSufftVz_2IjmDXfYJp_eEAbrx9Hd7J30WU6IP3S6TLfQli6mpTbkWC21yHYJwbNGHL47uHbXTZ8OcgN-hpGmxVMrffLydPpnw/s200/transformers2-6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424100952440608770" /></a><br />ERIC & TERRY - <em>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Biggest Disappointment</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54iTE_PvtxrfWoOmb8MJHPiij8bnrMWgxeopniQkY5Lk3fbejFtRSnDOAk5lkFxjYzGpTGkCyTd4ReB7UKAcVTEsRtbMjRrjda1SRCZ7rwx_5NU_iV40CBXHXubmOBJkBdEFOTAeyeFg/s1600-h/surrogates-poster.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54iTE_PvtxrfWoOmb8MJHPiij8bnrMWgxeopniQkY5Lk3fbejFtRSnDOAk5lkFxjYzGpTGkCyTd4ReB7UKAcVTEsRtbMjRrjda1SRCZ7rwx_5NU_iV40CBXHXubmOBJkBdEFOTAeyeFg/s200/surrogates-poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424102267499476018" /></a><br />ERIC - <em>Surrogates</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JkENodL5r2IPTIrmeST4ZCho1rJG3t1Aw2OZuZ1MlffjmcmwPOo_yYw_mIYCuPd6XJxnHVaEkRfpgYDRv-SXIyod8BbQb2w0FYz__0ctLHzjqoB4mvgtqWMouB3lSGyDGyWYNASooYI/s1600-h/bruno-poster.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JkENodL5r2IPTIrmeST4ZCho1rJG3t1Aw2OZuZ1MlffjmcmwPOo_yYw_mIYCuPd6XJxnHVaEkRfpgYDRv-SXIyod8BbQb2w0FYz__0ctLHzjqoB4mvgtqWMouB3lSGyDGyWYNASooYI/s200/bruno-poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424103003394237250" /></a><br />TERRY - <em>Bruno</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Weirdest Sex Scene</strong><br /><br />ERIC - Tabloid picture in <em>District 9</em><br /><br />TERRY - Jake and Neytiri in <em>Avatar</em><br /><br />(Pictures omitted due to us not wanting to wind up on any lists after googling "Avatar sex" or "Human/Prawn beastiality")<br /><br /><strong>Golden Bullet (2009's Most Hated Character)</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUIJekWj3m95wc815xYDxzqvLUZw4SKAOUYVpjQqAKsBhPVd-Z6zUMrC2AwXqvfRu7cAPbHn0MPrye7POfN5KgJMjKK-YND5D-JW6vLF_t24rx9LVv-_Wtp7pKrMhrs_1SODLM5cvebY/s1600-h/46986397.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUIJekWj3m95wc815xYDxzqvLUZw4SKAOUYVpjQqAKsBhPVd-Z6zUMrC2AwXqvfRu7cAPbHn0MPrye7POfN5KgJMjKK-YND5D-JW6vLF_t24rx9LVv-_Wtp7pKrMhrs_1SODLM5cvebY/s200/46986397.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424118957613533970" /></a><br />ERIC - "Melissa" in <em>The Hangover</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsz1-uzPfMgjLX6JNIrrRINfCAqECS-57tSbPnrWm6DVbLUXmd4TYJsCF2-USoHqZxWIuKlu9PJMkC6XvCqxUxkluz3opXxy7Ga2svHipJyV6634P5F0wTIVGaez7c7lFbhzIOOD8N2w/s1600-h/skids_and_mudflap.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsz1-uzPfMgjLX6JNIrrRINfCAqECS-57tSbPnrWm6DVbLUXmd4TYJsCF2-USoHqZxWIuKlu9PJMkC6XvCqxUxkluz3opXxy7Ga2svHipJyV6634P5F0wTIVGaez7c7lFbhzIOOD8N2w/s200/skids_and_mudflap.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424107209373683074" /></a><br />TERRY - "Skids" and "Mudflap" in <em>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>A Shot of Jack (2009's Favorite Character)</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmX522FdDGPi6reWIDzq03tdlJFdfx3a2UCgsUtQCQ9ZYwi3jsD76sbcLA9weU_WOJwlwdkRnSi7G8Lq10muTqc8SousDYKeyPZJuinkvdUv5jhkbV9ShRg7RW-36tRPS1QGBlktMZjw/s1600-h/esq-500-days-of-summer-0609-lgjpg.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmX522FdDGPi6reWIDzq03tdlJFdfx3a2UCgsUtQCQ9ZYwi3jsD76sbcLA9weU_WOJwlwdkRnSi7G8Lq10muTqc8SousDYKeyPZJuinkvdUv5jhkbV9ShRg7RW-36tRPS1QGBlktMZjw/s200/esq-500-days-of-summer-0609-lgjpg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424109766781002658" /></a><br />ERIC - Summer and Tom in <em>(500) Days of Summer</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5Ml0RsRs59f7BAWYzlBNJT0MhUS2ub6ZXyp7JBsLvmqd0Tw1BZ13vvtAjG6KFMoJ0j09-GlxXmqMdICZzztJIQzGHVjWGij4U5NfYptbxlnPduAbECqlvb5WR6KGR-KuwCd0ZB4K5Kc/s1600-h/2009_the_hangover_008.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5Ml0RsRs59f7BAWYzlBNJT0MhUS2ub6ZXyp7JBsLvmqd0Tw1BZ13vvtAjG6KFMoJ0j09-GlxXmqMdICZzztJIQzGHVjWGij4U5NfYptbxlnPduAbECqlvb5WR6KGR-KuwCd0ZB4K5Kc/s200/2009_the_hangover_008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424109951829702018" /></a><br />TERRY - Alan Garner in <em>The Hangover</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />DRUMROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL<br /><br /><strong>Best Movie</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc12cR4g_WK2pNk5YveuH7lnyea2wqX3TcOpb8lk4eK8z2vzHr8GtD7mv1S6un3J41khEGOTS4U_HTtOg88ZX-ZUaEoEmxrkz3PzjJxEetou6uRfBUzbBCVz8XL6T5Anml3cxcuVIjhtM/s1600-h/away_we_go_xlg.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc12cR4g_WK2pNk5YveuH7lnyea2wqX3TcOpb8lk4eK8z2vzHr8GtD7mv1S6un3J41khEGOTS4U_HTtOg88ZX-ZUaEoEmxrkz3PzjJxEetou6uRfBUzbBCVz8XL6T5Anml3cxcuVIjhtM/s320/away_we_go_xlg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424112841167925010" /></a><br />ERIC - <em>Away We Go</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a404I9d6qafVny4dCV1VO5t4bnWZT1eJG2KuJXx4Cin5P9RJmqwQJUPwKCvy31lP_MyWc-f8VdBshAiQAPc-LRZuGJZpFHHE_Ve_OQsxyzg1HGOXTX_qj1NZahwQgFKlR5hukdWfCVA/s1600-h/inglourious-basterds-p00.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a404I9d6qafVny4dCV1VO5t4bnWZT1eJG2KuJXx4Cin5P9RJmqwQJUPwKCvy31lP_MyWc-f8VdBshAiQAPc-LRZuGJZpFHHE_Ve_OQsxyzg1HGOXTX_qj1NZahwQgFKlR5hukdWfCVA/s320/inglourious-basterds-p00.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424113041540800466" /></a><br />TERRY - <em>Inglourious Basterds</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So there you go, Really Reel Reviews first Really Reels awards show. As always, if you have comments/concerns about the winners please email us at reallyreelreviews@gmail.com and we'll gladly post your feedback or read it on the next podcast.<br /><br />And also feel free to nominate your favorite 2010 movies throughout the year and maybe they'll walk away with some hardware next January!About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-60827799308754701292009-12-29T18:39:00.021-05:002009-12-30T11:23:56.289-05:001999 v 2009 / Reader Submission #3This post comes to us from loyal R3 fan Oliver C. It is a simple look at 1999 movies compared to those that have come to us this year in 2009. While I do not agree with everything he says below, it is interesting to look back at 1999 and think about how you felt after seeing the movies he references below. Did you feel like you'd still be talking about them 10 years from the day you had your ticket ripped? Will you still be quoting <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/06/07/terminator-salvation-the-hangover-1" target=_"blank">The Hangover</a></em> 10 years from now? Oliver's post looks at the end of 2 decades, and while you could just as simply compare 1999 to 2008 or 2006, it's still fun to look at the end of a decade and see where we were, where we've been, and where we're going... <b>I should note that this was submitted to us before December movies were released.</b><br /><br />Always feel free to email us your very own submissions to be posted on the site. Enjoy Oliver's contribution and here's to looking forward to 2010.<br /><br />--------------------<b>BEGIN SUBMISSION</b>------------------<br /><br />As we approach the end of the decade, many people will look back at the year and reminisce on the past movies that made 2009 the year that it was. <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqV4xH92NI/AAAAAAAAAKg/LEHXMpXOHMc/s1600-h/Transformers2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqV4xH92NI/AAAAAAAAAKg/LEHXMpXOHMc/s320/Transformers2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420809903985776850" /></a> I look back and I think… Really? Is that it??? What do we have to work with here? This year was marked off with remakes and sequels trying to be bigger and better then their first: <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/07/15/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-bruno" target=_"blank">Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/06/07/terminator-salvation-the-hangover-1" target=_"blank">Terminator Salvation</a></em>. Movies made to inspire us like <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172233/" target=_"blank">Whip It</a></em> fell flat. And even the biggest smallest horror movie was really just a re-imagination of the <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185937/" target=_"blank">Blair Witch Project</a></em>. All in all, once the dust settled from the battling robots, 2009 really went out with a fizzle. You’re probably asking, “geez, man, what do you expect?” I expected another 1999. Now that year truly ended the decade with a bang (I’m not eliminating <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/12/31/avatar-sherlock-holmes" target=_"blank">Avatar</a></em> to wow me… but I’m not holding my breath for it either). <br />1999 brought us a plethora of future classics, first-time directors, and even a sequel that lived up to the original in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120363/" target=_"blank">Toy Story 2</a></em>.<br /><br />1999 introduced the audience to M. Night Shyamalan(<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167404/" target=_"blank">The Sixth Sense</a></em>), Sam Mendes (<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/" target=_"blank">American Beauty</a></em>), Spike Jonze (<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/" target=_"blank">Being John Malkovich</a></em>), Sophia Coppola (<em>The Virgin Suicides</em>), Alexander Payne (<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126886/" target=_"blank">Election</a></em>), and Brad Bird (<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129167/" target=_"blank">The Iron Giant</a></em>) all of which had their first wide releases in this year. Four of those directors were nominated for Oscars in their aforementioned debuts, with Mendes actually walking away with the trophy for Best Director. Since then Spike Jonze picked one up for <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/" target=_"blank">Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</a></em>, Sophia Coppola for <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335266/" target=_"blank">Lost In Translation</a></em>, Alexander Payne for <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/" target=_"blank">Sideways</a></em>, and Brad Bird for <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382932/" target=_"blank">Ratatouille</a></em>. And <em>The Sixth Sense</em> went ahead to be one of the highest grossing movie of all time.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Szqh_JFVaqI/AAAAAAAAAK4/4UTdKoZKuJE/s1600-h/MCD_Tom+Hanks_Green+Mile.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Szqh_JFVaqI/AAAAAAAAAK4/4UTdKoZKuJE/s320/MCD_Tom+Hanks_Green+Mile.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420823207635937954" /></a>It’s not just the directors that came out of the shadows, 1999 also introduced us to the on-screen talent who were once barely on the public’s radar to center-stage. Angelina Jolie not only outshined co-star Winona Ryder, but also took home Oscar gold with <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172493/" target=_"blank">Girl, Interrupted</a></em>. Reese Witherspoon proved that she wasn’t just another cute blonde with her Golden Globe nominated role in <em>Election</em>. Jake Gyllenhaal took his first adult role in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132477/" target=_"blank">October Sky</a></em>. Michael Clarke Duncan went from bodyguard to the stars to Oscar Nominated actor in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120689/" target=_"blank">The Green Mile</a></em>. And Russell Crowe went from Aussie bad-boy to future Academy Award Winning Aussie bad-boy in his Nominated performance in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140352/" target=_"blank">The Insider</a></em>. <br /><br />1999 was also a big comeback year. Whether it be from constant box-office flops like Julia Roberts or tabloid fodder like Martin Lawrence and Hugh Grant, each of these actors re-established themselves with <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125439/" target=_"blank">Notting Hill</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181316/" target=_"blank">Blue Streak</a></em>. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqWyuDPFxI/AAAAAAAAAKo/iWAjcAv8580/s1600-h/The+Matrix.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqWyuDPFxI/AAAAAAAAAKo/iWAjcAv8580/s320/The+Matrix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420810899593041682" /></a>Two sets of brothers took us in opposite directions in the movie viewing experience. The Wachowski brothers taught us that Keanu Reeves can actually make a movie that will make you think in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/" target=_"blank">The Matrix</a></em>. They also gave us a need to see everything in HD. The Weitz brothers taught us that you can have a sex-comedy with heart in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163651/" target=_"blank">American Pie</a></em>. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqXiIpNVmI/AAAAAAAAAKw/k0dfxLFHekI/s1600-h/Shannon+Elizabeth.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 116px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqXiIpNVmI/AAAAAAAAAKw/k0dfxLFHekI/s200/Shannon+Elizabeth.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420811714185483874" /></a> They also gave us a need to see everything in HD (I’m talking about you, Shannon Elizabeth).<br /> <br />Finally, 1999 taught us that Box Office grosses means nothing in the general scheme of things when it comes to making a movie that will always stick with the viewers. <em>Fight Club</em>, <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/11/20/paranormal-activity-boondock-saints-ii" target=_"blank">Boondock Saints</a></em>, and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/" target=_"blank">Office Space</a></em> suffered huge box-office hits (Boondock barely even saw the light of day), but each one resurfaced with a huge cult following in the DVD world. <br /><br />All is not perfect though. 1999 brought us one thing that the true movie fan can do without. Jar-Jar-Binks and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120915/" target=_"blank">Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace</a></em>.<br /> <br />I never said it was a perfect year. <br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqiqmqsySI/AAAAAAAAALA/oYH9uzzDGA8/s1600-h/jarjarbinks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SzqiqmqsySI/AAAAAAAAALA/oYH9uzzDGA8/s320/jarjarbinks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420823954311661858" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-38002199147036215642009-12-25T13:59:00.004-05:002009-12-30T14:37:18.605-05:00Merry Christmas everyone!<a href="http://22.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktul9wRL2E1qztln1o1_400.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 270px;" src="http://22.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktul9wRL2E1qztln1o1_400.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We here at Really Reel Reviews would like to wish you and your family a very happy and safe holiday.<br /><br />And have a happy and healthy 2010!About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-41872540694960208302009-12-21T21:06:00.009-05:002010-01-13T16:07:19.990-05:00Should you see "Precious"?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKR7YCuvTHcHfddHfYXTy1NGtNNmSY4PKC6VSxK2TI3e_5IBrb9-AfUc5UQrHznA_JKdy4AjJLdsESuD6KurWsHi6DQJ_xHt-mFLm6ULKQU_JZrWRI6pW7cRb0jFpjgYUcbpsXzjyNRI/s1600-h/precious_poster-691x1023.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKR7YCuvTHcHfddHfYXTy1NGtNNmSY4PKC6VSxK2TI3e_5IBrb9-AfUc5UQrHznA_JKdy4AjJLdsESuD6KurWsHi6DQJ_xHt-mFLm6ULKQU_JZrWRI6pW7cRb0jFpjgYUcbpsXzjyNRI/s400/precious_poster-691x1023.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426333751630473858" /></a><br />"Precious" is a movie that has been getting quite a bit of buzz over the last few months. People are talking about newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and her portrayal of Precious, a poor, obese teen in Harlem in 1987. They are talking about comedienne Monique's revelation of a performance as Precious' sadistic and abusive mother. And they are talking about Mariah Carey's surprisingly competent job of playing a social worker and doing it without any makeup. This movie is also getting a lot of awards attention having been nominated for Best Picture-Drama at the Golden Globes, as well as both Sidibe ad Monique receiving nods. It is believed, especially where the field has been expanded to 10 movies for Best Picture, the movie and actors will be nominated for Academy Awards. I recently saw "Precious" and will say it's a very good movie, with excellent performances and I am happy I saw it. However, I don't know if I can or should tell you to see it.<br /><br />I know how ridiculous that may sound. I saw this great movie, it's getting all this positive attention, how can I say I liked it and not recommend it? Well it's complicated.<br /><br />For most people, a movie is an escape. It's a way to break away from the mundane activities of life and watch a story of something extraordinary. Like watching giant blue cat people on a fictional planet fighting human controlled robots. It's also a way to cheer you up when you are feeling down. Like watching two men sneak their way into weddings and sleep with random guests while using aliases. And sometimes it's seeing a story of someone from meager beginnings rise to the top of their field. Like watching an undersized defensive end get the hell beaten out of him during countless practices only to make it on the field at the end of his last game and record a sack.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.themoviemind.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/rudy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 281px;" src="http://www.themoviemind.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/rudy.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />These are movies, and they make us cheer, they make us laugh and we remember the best moments. It's not a coincidence that when I was in Vegas this Fall I heard 20 different people say "This isn't the real Caesar's Palace, is it?" And I didn't even stay at Caesar's Palace. The point is movies are entertainment and they are mostly designed to obviously entertain us and for many people that's all they are looking for.<br /><br />Precious does not do any of these things. The ending is uplifting, but not nearly enough to make up for the rest of the absolute hell this poor girl is put through her entire life. And it's not enough for when you walk out of the theater or shut off your DVD player for you to smile and be content. This movie will not entertain you and that's okay because that's not the point.<br /><br />A movie can also do something besides entertain, it can educate and make you think of something from a different perspective you never considered before. Obviously documentaries are a prime example, but there are plenty of regular movies that can do so as well. I studied the Holocaust in high school and I read "Night" by Elie Wiesel. The scope of this tragic time in history never really hit me as hard as it should have until I saw "Schindler's List", a great movie that I doubt many could say was very "entertaining". And that is the other power movies have. To show people something that never would have had the same effect if they'd just read about or never even thought about it in the first place.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6YfNvqNBKO9f2Y7sdJjt-ZlQl6ycWnr3FdZ2zkAKYEk5bGw4qr-CADCygtv_tx-qwcwW7efJogTpnwuC_zLChHVqPFFZUl7Tm-czwF4oknRvdY31LEKCucJb-YylZojMXe4Qx8QAAyQ/s1600-h/precious-MoNique-gabby-thumb-475x350-10171.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6YfNvqNBKO9f2Y7sdJjt-ZlQl6ycWnr3FdZ2zkAKYEk5bGw4qr-CADCygtv_tx-qwcwW7efJogTpnwuC_zLChHVqPFFZUl7Tm-czwF4oknRvdY31LEKCucJb-YylZojMXe4Qx8QAAyQ/s320/precious-MoNique-gabby-thumb-475x350-10171.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426333910769782690" /></a><br />This is where the power of "Precious" lies and it's what makes it such a great movie. I'm a white male from a middle class suburban family that was skinny in high school. I could not have less in common with this character and to tell you the truth I never really thought about what it would be like for someone like her. That's what I liked about this movie though, it made me think and deeply care about a character who has many real life counterparts that I had never given a second thought about. I'm not saying the movie caused me to become an activist or anything like that, but just that I considered what it would be like to be this person and how tough she has it, shows how powerful a movie this.<br /><br />So why wouldn't I recommend it? Because this movie is TOUGH to get through. This girl's life is something you would not wish on your worst enemy. She is molested by her father and has two kids from him. There's a scene of this abuse that is reason enough for me to never recommend someone seeing this movie. I mean how could you really tell a person that's something they should see? She's overweight and is verbally and physically abused by her mother who treats her as if she "stole" her man from her. One of her children has down syndrome. She's been suspended from school for getting pregnant for the second time. Her life is quite literally a living hell to the point she often fantasizes about herself in glamorous situations as an escape. Now she does end up attending an alternative school and finds a teacher who believes in her (Paula Patton, another strong performance), which sounds formulaic but is well done enough that it does not feel like you've seen it a million times before. Lenny Kravitz also shows up as a nurse who helps deliver Precious' second baby and makes it a toss up for which musician gives the better performance, Kravitz or Carey. Precious eventually gets her life close to turned around and as I said the ending is somewhat uplifting. But the ending doesn't stick with you for the next few days like the first 90 minutes do, which is another reason I find it difficult to tell someone to see this movie.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qzd9HIsRWeA/SwCgFU7WAMI/AAAAAAAAeLI/UTseG1-ysEA/s400/Precious+Gabourey+Sidibe.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qzd9HIsRWeA/SwCgFU7WAMI/AAAAAAAAeLI/UTseG1-ysEA/s400/Precious+Gabourey+Sidibe.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />One thing I also found really sad as I watched "Precious" was the great performance Sidibe gave. This young actress did an outstanding job and is getting numerous nominations and attention. However, I couldn't help think how few roles like this there would be in Sidibe's future. She clearly has the talent, but how many movies have you seen with obese African-American women stars that are not comedies? This is no fault of Sidibe's, but more a sad commentary that this actress might not be in high demand after what should be a star making role.<br /><br />I am glad I saw "Precious" and I think it was a very well done movie. I think the performances were a key part of the quality of the film, as anything less would have made the movie a lot more traumatic and not as redeeming. At the end of the day I would say if you're someone who only seeks entertainment from movies and only wants to watch them as an escape then feel free to skip "Precious", you will not walk away happy from it. However, if you're someone who likes movies that are on a higher level, movies looking to educate, movies that don't always give the happy ending wrapped up in a nice big bow then I would definitely recommend "Precious".About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-75266462647578670862009-12-02T22:33:00.007-05:002009-12-02T23:36:47.688-05:00I want you to hit me as hard as you can<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Celebrities_Gallery/20061007/425.pitt.fight.club.100506.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 425px; height: 315px;" src="http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Celebrities_Gallery/20061007/425.pitt.fight.club.100506.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />“Fight Club” is one of my favorite movies of all-time (check my facebook info) and I thought a fitting way to honor the film about fighting strangers was to list my top 12 favorite “Fight Club” quotes. You might be asking, “Why 12?” Well I picked out all my favorite quotes and there were 12 of them and rather than cut two of them, I thought “What would Tyler Durden do?” (hey, that’s another website!) Tyler wouldn’t let his quote list be conformed down to some arbitrary number that David Letterman popularized. I am my own person with my own number of quotes and it shouldn’t matter if other people expect 10, I AM USING 12! NOW PUNCH ME IN THE FACE!!<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(Note: I kept the curse words in because I feel using asterisks or the pound sign would take away from the quote. You’ve seen/said/heard the word before, it won’t fucking kill you. See, you’re fine.)<br /><br />(Note 2: Also, I didn’t include the Rules of Fight Club quote. I just felt like it was played out and has been used in so many lame ways since so why bother. i.e. The first rule about the Willingham’s Family Bowl Night is you don’t talk about the Willingham’s Family Bowl Night)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything. – Tyler</span><br />I love stuff, love it. I love my HDTV, my Mac, my Xbox 360, and my collection of sports jerseys featuring a Golden State Warriors Chris Webber jersey. So don’t mistake my adoration of this movie or this quote in particular as me being some kind of minimalist. But I do think I am a bit held down by my possessions and hey maybe if I lost them all I’d be happier living in a broken down old house making soap. Doubtful, but I like the quote so it stays. Also, I do realize I just laid out a nice checklist for any robber casing my place.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://chasness.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/fight_club.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 329px;" src="http://chasness.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/fight_club.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time. – Narrator</span><br />I never really thought about that until I heard this quote. It’s sad, it’s scary and in no way uplifting. But I am sucker for things I never considered before.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I fuck like you wanna fuck, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not. – Tyler</span><br />I frequently imagine this is what Tom Brady would say to me if we ever met. Would I like him less if he did? Absolutely not.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. You're the worst thing that's ever happened to me. – Marla</span><br />I think most people have wanted to say this to another person at some point in our lives and it always made me laugh how matter-of-factly Marla says it. I think Helena Bonham Carter is pretty by the way. I don’t care that she is always in Us Weekly dressed like a bag lady, I’m down with HBC.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. You don't know where I've been. You don't know where I've been. Just let us have the basement, Lou! – Tyler</span><br />For those of you not familiar with this scene, it’s when the bar owner finds out about the Fight Club in the basement and proceeds to beat Tyler Durden’s face into oblivion. When he gets up to leave, a bloodied Tyler jumps up screaming and coughing blood on him until he lets them stay. I really like this scene and am fully aware that’s unsettling. Just to further add on to my psychosis, this would be my defense if I got into a fight that I knew I couldn’t win. Take a few hits to the face, play dead, then cough blood on the guy/girl when he/she turns away and yell “Remember when this happened in ‘Fight Club’”? How could they not run away crying, it’s bulletproof<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.hji.co.uk/blogs/main/Brad-Pitt-Fight-Club.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 500px;" src="http://www.hji.co.uk/blogs/main/Brad-Pitt-Fight-Club.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessel's life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted. – Tyler</span><br />This is when Tyler threatens to kill the shop clerk and then lets him live and through this act gives him a new lease on life. I always liked when Tyler finds a community college id in the clerk’s wallet and asks what he studied. The clerk replies “Stuff” and Tyler says “Stuff? Were the midterms hard?” That’s classic Tyler.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. Is that your blood?<br />Some of it, yeah. – Narrator</span><br />It’s great that Edward Norton is talking to his boss when he says this, but the quote would be great regardless. He’s just so nonchalant about having his and another person’s blood on his clothes at work that it’s almost impossible to continue questioning it. But the weird thing is imagine if you saw someone at work with blood on their clothes. Would you ask them if it’s theirs? Hell no, the guy has blood on him at work! You smile at them, send a quick email to HR and then take the next week off and let the people who were too slow to realize they were working with Psycho McBloodstain deal with the madness.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! Ok, you are now firing a gun at your 'imaginary friend' near 400 GALLONS OF NITROGLYCERINE! – Tyler</span><br />I really liked how this movie can take the most serious situations, like firing a gun at a truck full of explosives, and make it hilarious. Not much else to add here as this quote kind of speaks for itself.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. Look, the people you are after are the people you depend on. We cook your meals, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not... fuck with us. – Tyler</span><br />I feel like this would be extremely terrifying to hear if you were rich, and I love rich people being scared. I should have said this to the woman in the BMW who cut me off the other day but saying “We are the people you depend on to review movies on a podcast you don’t listen to” doesn’t have the same effect.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://justinsomnia.org/images/fightclub-screencap.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 380px; height: 159px;" src="http://justinsomnia.org/images/fightclub-screencap.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. You met me at a very strange time in my life. – Narrator</span><br />The last line in the movie is so priceless because throughout the entire film characters are constantly exaggerating their circumstances and speaking in hyperbole, but this is one of the biggest understatements I have ever heard. That’s why I love it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. Motherfucker! You hit me in the ear! – Tyler</span><br />This is the first fight scene and I give major credit to it because it plays out the way two guys who don’t know how to fight hit each other. It’s not like Rocky IV where it’s carefully choreographed and guys simply trade punches to the face. If someone’s in a fight for the first time things like an ear punch, hair pull, elbow in the armpit, or grab to the balls will probably happen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off. –Tyler</span><br />I was raised on television. I did think I’d be famous someday. I am kinda pissed off about this. Certainly not the level of pissed where I wanna hit someone or burn my hand or destroy the country’s credit system, but pissed nonetheless. And that’s why this is my favorite quote from “Fight Club”. Sadly, I never got the chance to drunkenly recite this in college to the people waiting in line at Taco Bell at 2am.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i34.tinypic.com/10cqhb6.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 136px;" src="http://i34.tinypic.com/10cqhb6.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />So there’s my list. Hopefully you saw some of your own favorite quotes on here and if not, feel free to email me yours. And remember, the first rule about Really Reel Reviews is talk about it as much as possible to as many people as possible. Seriously.About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11937331916506930980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-67645256476185703642009-11-30T21:05:00.038-05:002009-11-30T22:29:24.608-05:00The Day I Lost 180 MinutesI love having days away from work as much as the next guy. I’m a lazy s.o.b. hence a site dedicated to an activity where I get to sit motionless for 2hour bouts. But the downside to days off is that during the daylight hours there is <em>absolutely nothing</em> worth watching on television. And during the holidays it’s even worse; networks play it safe by turning to marathons, most of which consist of the same movie on a loop. Let’s face it, if that movie is not <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085334/" target=_"blank">A Christmas Story</a></em> then the chance of getting even one view from guys like me is pretty slim. Even the premium channels are weak during the day. But they have “On Demand” so I figured why not check out their library and see if there is anything I haven’t seen. Oh neat, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/" target=_"blank">The Day The Earth Stood Still</a></em>. I would never want to pay for it, but since it’s free why not?<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SxSAeHV8SUI/AAAAAAAAAIM/hf-_VkAX97s/s1600/The+Day+The+Earth+Stood+Still.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SxSAeHV8SUI/AAAAAAAAAIM/hf-_VkAX97s/s320/The+Day+The+Earth+Stood+Still.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410090307234318658" /></a><br /><br />A remake of the 1951 film, this update stars <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000206/" target=_"blank">Keanu Reeves</a> as Klaatu, an alien visitor; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000124/" target=_"blank">Jennifer Connelly</a> as Dr. Helen Benson, an astro-biologist; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1535523/" target=_"blank">Jaden Smith </a>as Jacob Benson, the young, pain in the ass stepson of the good doctor; and a large, cycloptic alien defense system made up of tiny metallic termites. The plot is simple enough: a large glowing sphere is on a crash course with Manhattan. Convinced it will wipe out the city and that there is zero time to evacuate, the geniuses of the U.S. Government decide to round up the most brilliant scientific minds to examine the aftermath. But when the sphere slows and coasts harmlessly into Central Park the inhabitants of earth are not overjoyed for being spared, instead reach historic levels of panic and automatically assume a state of fear/policy of “shoot first, ask questions later.” <br /><br />You would think from all the <a href="http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/thedaytheearthstoodstill/medium.html" target=_"blank">trailer</a> and promotion of the “IMAX experience” for this movie that it would at least be a sci-fi, special effects extravaganza. <b><u>SPOILER ALERT!!</b></u> It’s not. It’s an overly dramatic movie that puts a lot of its heavy burden on Jaden Smith’s back and acting performance. While he’s fine at what he needs to do, the movie just falls flat and here’s why. Klaatu professes to Helen that his mission to earth is to save the Earth. But not it’s homo sapien inhabitants, oh no. <em>The</em> Earth. The question Klaatu must answer is: Are humans capable of change? Can they change their ways in order to save their planet and forego intergallaticly sanctioned genocide? <br /><br />After sitting through 2hours of movie watching an inept government run a “seek and kill” mission for a being they do not understand <em>and</em> watching people riot and run in fear I was kind of on Klaatu’s side. You know what? Unleash the hounds and locusts. Let it all burn down! People don’t change and they treat their planet like crap. If we’re going to make movies with warnings about how we treat our planet and each other then let’s go all the way across the finish line to at least get the message across. Why cop out at the end and go for the sob story? Even innocent men will confess to a crime when a gun is to their head. So people becoming “nice” near the end of existence means nothing about the ability to achieve true change.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SxSMPeMXAUI/AAAAAAAAAI0/0j70IqugaY8/s1600/DESS_Connelly_Smith_Reeves.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SxSMPeMXAUI/AAAAAAAAAI0/0j70IqugaY8/s320/DESS_Connelly_Smith_Reeves.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410103249809637698" /></a> I’m sure you can guess how this movie played out. More spheres appear and serve as arcs to help transplant non-human animals safely away from the planet while the locust-like metallic termites go to work on the eastern seaboard. Perhaps what you didn’t expect is a lack of depth for Jennifer Connelly. Her character is a waste and serves a babysitter and dialogue medium to progress the story. She is far too talented to be relegated to a role such as this one. Jaden Smith shows some talent and I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of him in years to come. And Keanu…the one thing that is not going to help his acting image is playing an emotionless alien…or maybe it’s right up his alley. <br /><br />You know, this movie is not so much bad as it is just <em>not good</em>. I’d say skip it because you’ll want to finish it just to prove to yourself that you can and that’s a challenge no one should undertake -- <b><em>1 reel out of 5</b></em><br /><br />If you’re keeping score there’s still a little over 60minutes remaining on my time lost. And that time went to <em>The Girlfriend Experience</em>, a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001752/" target=_"blank">Steven Soderbergh</a> film made on less than a $2M budget and filmed in less than two weeks starring porn star <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2340248/" target=_"blank">Sasha Grey</a>. I’d love to tell you what this movie is about, but truth is I don’t know. I mean, I know that for 76 minutes I watched as a high-end escort (Sasha Grey as Chelsea/Christine) went on several…uh…client dinners listening to men complain about the impending 2008 Presidential election and economic decline all while struggling with her open relationship with her gym trainer boyfriend, Chris. <br /><center><object width="420" height="339"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x91f7t" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x91f7t" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="325" height="225" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /></center><br />But the film is not presented chronologically and Soderbergh should know better. There is no reason for this cheap trick other than to keep us intrigued by what we do not know, for had this story been told chronologically we all would have walked out by minute 30.<br /><br />It’s a weak movie with an even weaker storyline that probably would have been best served as a series of vignettes about the economy and election rather than a movie held together by a balsa wood premise. In fact, the most brilliant thing about this movie is the fact that Soderbergh n’ crew were kind enough to keep the runtime under 90minutes.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SxSH8mV2j2I/AAAAAAAAAIs/HMuTX3i3JG0/s1600/The+Girlfriend+Experience.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SxSH8mV2j2I/AAAAAAAAAIs/HMuTX3i3JG0/s320/The+Girlfriend+Experience.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410098527532912482" /></a><br /><br />Grey’s performance is better than I expected, but in no way does it measure up to the hype I had been hearing. Like the movie itself, her character lacks any real depth or dilemma. I am confident, however, that she has the capability to turn in a much stronger acting performance if given the tools (not sure if a pun was intended there). The only reason I will give it a better score than <em>The Day The Earth Stood Still</em> is because this may be something die hard Soderbergh fans will appreciate. But I think instead of wowing you with a surprise performance the movie disappoints at every turn -- <b><em> 2 reels out of 5</b></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-83914569792734810952009-11-15T19:11:00.018-05:002009-11-30T22:18:01.216-05:00Who is the Baddest Bad Ass Villain?When it comes to movies everyone likes to talk about “favorites”, “bests”, and “good”. Whatever happened to the bad? Stone/acid wash jeans and saying, oh so slickly, “that’s bad.” Sometimes Bad is a good thing. And that’s why I’m bringing it back and breaking out the tournament to find out who is not only bad, but who is the <em>baddest</em>. The baddest villains in movie history have agreed to meet in the Hendecagon for <b>Really Reel Reviews’ <em>Baddest Bad Ass Tournament</b></em>. The Challengers have been divided into four separate regions: Famous Villains, Horror, Science, Classic Villains, Sci-Fi.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCfdrBr8RI/AAAAAAAAAHs/MPHCXCqTgM0/s1600-h/Bracket.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 388px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCfdrBr8RI/AAAAAAAAAHs/MPHCXCqTgM0/s400/Bracket.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404494884959416594" /></a><br /><b><u>EAST REGION: Famous Villains</b></u><br /><b>The Joker v. Hannibal Lecter</b>: First off let’s establish that we’re going with the more sadistic Joker that we simultaneously loved and feared in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/" target=_"blank">The Dark Knight</a></em> and with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000164/" target=_"blank">Anthony Hopkins</a>' Hannibal. Both villains are psycho/sociopaths that would make Charlie Manson brown his tighty-whities. Both have done stints in insane asylums and escaped only to wreak more havoc. This is one of those first round bouts that would go the distance and become epic, perhaps too early in the tournament. Lecter is a well-educated man who is pretty much as disturbed as a man can be .He knows everyone’s next move before they do and usually makes you pay…by using your brain as airplane snacks. But most of what we know about Lecter is through story and reflection, and in 2 out of 3 movies in which Hopkins portrayed Lecter he’s really serving as an aide to police, a snitch…and we all know snitches get stitches and end up in ditches. And that’s where The Joker will put him. A sadomasochistic-pyschopathic genius who possesses the intelligence of the world’s greatest hero – Batman – and the sinister traits of all the world’s worst villains. <b>WINNER: The Joker</b><br /><br /><object width="318" height="258"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eQB3R7LoukI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eQB3R7LoukI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" ALIGN="RIGHT" width="318" height="258"></embed></object><b>Johnny Lawrence v. Darth Vader</b>: “Put him in a body bag, Johnny!” Sorry, pal, not this time. Your dumbass got crane kicked in the face by a kid you already hobbled. Nice defense, idiot. Good luck fighting the dark side of the force. <b>WINNER: Darth Vader</b><br /><br /><b><u>WEST REGION: Horror</b></u><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwChAkCCX6I/AAAAAAAAAH0/G4uFsUyU5JI/s1600-h/Freddy+Krueger.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwChAkCCX6I/AAAAAAAAAH0/G4uFsUyU5JI/s320/Freddy+Krueger.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404496583888887714" /></a><b>Freddy Krueger v. Michael Meyers</b>: I’ve always hated Michael Meyers. It pissed me off how he could catch up to people who were running and he just walked. I think he’s a punk and when it comes down to masks he has the worst one. But Freddy’s got style. Freddy wears his deformity like a badge of honor and he’s the only murderer daring enough to wear a J. Crew sweater while slicing whiny brats to bits. Freddy would rip Meyers to pieces, no contest. <b>WINNER: Freddy Krueger</b><br /><br /><b>Leatherface v. JigSaw</b>: Ooooh, this is another tough one. Task forces of police can’t take down JigSaw. By the time you realize where he is or what he’s up to it’s too late and you’re already trapped in one of his elaborate torture-porn schemes. On the other hand, Leatherface is a chainsaw wielding freak who did to body chopping what Edward Scissorhands did to landscaping. Without JigSaw getting the jump on Leatherface – which he couldn’t – he’s just a sickly old man who doesn’t have the stones to kill anyone. The best part of this would be watching JigSaw get a little taste of his own terrible tasting – like Robitussin bad – medicine. <b>WINNER: Leatherface</b><br /><br /><b><u>NORTH REGION: Classic Villains</b></u><br /><b>Vampires v. Zombies</b>: If we go with the baddest Zombies out there, like the Rage-Type zombies from <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/" target=_"blank">28 Days/Weeks Later</a></em>, then it’s possible they could stand a chance and get the drop on a Vampire. The thing about defeating a Zombie is that you want space and lots and lots of artillery. For Vampires it’s a little different. You need smarts, strategy, and – depending on your beliefs – some other artifacts or trendy objects. To get an idea of how close and ridiculous this bout would be just watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8PUE06DM3w" target=_"blank">Tyson v. Holyfield</a>, the biting and blows that happened there are almost as exciting as what you’d get here. Zombies are relentless, but Vampires are too cool and they need blood just as much as Zombies. In a bout that is sure to go the distance…<b>WINNER: Vampires</b><br /><br /><b>Frankenstein’s Monster v. Werewolves</b>: Seriously? There are only two things that are more of a punk than Frankenstein’s Monster: Frankenstein himself and Johnny Lawrence. <b>WINNER: Werewolves</b>.<br /><br /><b><u>SOUTH REGION: Sci-Fi</b></u><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCel0Oz5rI/AAAAAAAAAHk/BJiZgt6-qmo/s1600-h/Predator_Wrist+Weapon.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCel0Oz5rI/AAAAAAAAAHk/BJiZgt6-qmo/s320/Predator_Wrist+Weapon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404493925357708978" /></a><br /><b>Predator v. Valdamort</b>: This bout comes down to an age old philosophical question: is the wand truly mightier than that sick ass wrist thingy? In true rock-paper-scissor fashion wrist thingy beats stick<b>WINNER: Predator</b><br /><br /><b>Alien v. Terminator</b>: Pick your best Alien and your worst Terminator and I still think the Terminators come out on top. Aliens dominate in tight spaces, vent ducts, and creepy, other-worldly habitats. They simply have no predatorial abilities except over humans. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370263/" target=_"blank">Aliens were the prey of Predators</a> and I am confident they’d be wiped out by any terminator in a matter of moments. Bleeding or spitting acid or not…<b>WINNER: Terminator</b><br /><br /><b><u>EAST REGION FINALS: Famous Villains</b></u><br /><object width="298" height="241"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6p4T7_XI7WM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6p4T7_XI7WM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" ALIGN="LEFT" width="298" height="241"></embed></object><b>The Joker v. Darth Vader</b>: From my brief stint as a mega-nerd I discovered that the force operates on emotions – anger, jealously, fear, that sort of thing. If you believe the Joker is an angry, jealous man then Vader has the upper hand. However, I think The Joker’s mind is too distorted and cannot be mapped by words like “fear” and “anger”. I think he’s too complex to fall victim to Mind Tricks and force choke grips, and smart enough to avoid the light-saber or telepathically thrown boxes. Instead The Joker will play mind games that will exploit Vader’s own emotions and hot-headedness. Some will call it the upset of the century, but I think it’s an epic showdown with total destruction of all things around it and only one survivor. <b>WINNER: The Joker</b><br /><br /><b><u>WEST REGION FINALS: Horror</b></u><br /><b>Freddy Krueger v. Leatherface</b>: I really think that Leatherface is one of the baddest dudes out there. Have you ever tried to just walk with a chainsaw and not cut off your own hands? This guy can run <em>and</em> cut you to bits…but even bad ass serial killers need sleep. And that’s when Freddy says, “night-night, freak.” <b>WINNER: Freddy Krueger</b><br /><br /><b><u>NORTH REGION FINALS: Classic Villains</b></u><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCdfJ_mgtI/AAAAAAAAAHc/7dzl11sGmGA/s1600-h/Werewolf+v+Vampire+Woman.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCdfJ_mgtI/AAAAAAAAAHc/7dzl11sGmGA/s320/Werewolf+v+Vampire+Woman.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404492711428784850" /></a><b>Vampires v. Werewolves</b>: Ugh, all the tweens out there just soiled their pants in extreme glee thinking this was a <em><a href="http://www.apple.com/trailers/summit/newmoon/" target=_"blank">Twilight: New Moon</a></em> reference. There have been many film instances in which these two famous creatures have battled each other. In a caged death match it’ll come down to brains v. brawns and in this case brains will take the edge. As <a href="http://www.break.com/usercontent/2009/10/vampire-vs-werewolf-who-wins-in-the-cage-1429073.html" target=_"blank">BJ Penn </a>said in regards to this battle, “it’s like matador versus the bull.” <b>WINNER: Vampires</b><br /><br /><b><u>SOUTH REGION FINALS: Sci-Fi</b></u><br /><b>Predator v. Terminator</b>: T-1000 is perhaps the greatest villain in movie history. I don’t think anyone will disagree with that fact. And unless there is bubbling hot lava or liquid nitrogen on the Predator’s wrist band I’m pretty sure he’ll get sliced to bits. In a perfect scenario the T-1000 shape shifts into a Predator and just toys with him for a moment, something similar to the “guard with coffee” scene in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/" target=_"blank">T-2</a></em>, an oldy but goody. <b>WINNER: Terminator</b><br /><br /><b><u>THE FINAL FOUR</b></u><br /><b>The Joker v. Freddy Krueger</b>: In the West Region Finals we saw Freddy put Leatherface six feet under in his sleep. But the only person’s whose dreams may be more disturbing than his everyday life as a villain is The Joker. Again, I think he’s one of the smartest human villains in film and comic book history. He’s conniving, disturbing, and yet, in a way, charming. Freddy, you fought well and proud, but the tournament underdog is taking this one. <b>WINNER: The Joker</b><br /><br /><b>Vampires v. Terminator</b>: There is nothing a Vampire can do a Terminator. There is no blood to take from a T-1000 and very little from at 800 series of Terminator. Again, with no major weapons systems the Vampires stand no chance and at the very least a Terminator could stand by idly and wait for a Vampire to starve to death. Vampires are like the Arizona Cardinals: they’re good, but mainly made it this far because of their poop region (yes, I know the Cardinals are a decent team. Just go with the analogy). <b>WINNER: Terminator</b><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwChl_2TRWI/AAAAAAAAAH8/rxw1GVh3l_I/s1600-h/The+Joker_Why+So+Serious.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 120px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwChl_2TRWI/AAAAAAAAAH8/rxw1GVh3l_I/s320/The+Joker_Why+So+Serious.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404497227011016034" /></a><b><u>CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: Death is the Only Way Out</b></u><br /><b>The Joker v. Terminator</b>: If you dropped an atomic bomb on a state fair it wouldn’t compare to the carnage that would ensue in this showdown. I have already called each of these two the greatest villains in history. But who would win? Terminator: advanced weapon systems, devoid of emotion and relentless killing abilities. The Joker: extremely intelligent and a seemingly endless amount of resources. Taking into account the sadomasochistic personality of The Joker I think he would be willing to put himself in a harmful situation to overtake any of the Terminators…but he’d fail. T-1000 can only be stopped in a couple of ways and without access to those tools The Joker would fall, but only after severely hindering Terminator. A fight for the ages and one that would forever disable T-1000, the greatest Terminator, villain, and baddest bad ass…<br /><br /><b><u>BADDEST BAD ASS 1 CHAMPION</u>: TERMINATOR</b><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCjRNZibdI/AAAAAAAAAIE/EgyNN0ealoc/s1600-h/T-1000.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 311px; height: 298px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SwCjRNZibdI/AAAAAAAAAIE/EgyNN0ealoc/s320/T-1000.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404499068894473682" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-42148400256788355792009-11-11T18:50:00.018-05:002009-11-30T22:07:05.316-05:00The Black ListThe other day we decided to see <em><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/reallyreelreviews/2009/11/12/Paranormal-Activity-Boondock-Saints-II" target="'_">Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day</a></em> and we were lucky enough to gatch a glimpse of the new Hughes Brothers film <em><a href="http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thebookofeli/" target="'_">The Book of Eli</a></em> starring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000243/" target="'_">Denzel Washington</a>. I asked myself, what was the last Hughes Bros. movie I remember ? Holy crap! <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120681/" target="'_">From Hell</a></em>, 2001. And then I started thinking about the long and varied, but ultimately successful career of Mr. Washington. Wow, three very talented black filmmakers teaming up together for what looks like a pretty bad-ass action flick. This train of thought barreled right past the station platform and into a whirlwind of thought about the current status of Black actors and filmmakers today. With an interracial President in the oval office I think it’s important to look back at how far we – yes, this is a term that is applied to all humanity not just one race, ethnicity, religion – have come as a civilization, nation, world.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SvtPKvafqSI/AAAAAAAAAHE/qpOwRNyvrIs/s1600-h/TheBlackListVol2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402999223905921314" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SvtPKvafqSI/AAAAAAAAAHE/qpOwRNyvrIs/s320/TheBlackListVol2.jpg" /></a>Not long ago <a href="http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/blacklistv2/synopsis.html" target="'_">HBO </a>decided to ask – and seeked to answer - these questions with a documentary vehicle <em><a href="http://www.hbo.com/docs/docuseries/theblacklist/" target="'_">The Black List: Vol. 1</a></em> which was an <b>Official Selection 2008 Sundance Film Festival</b>. <a href="http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/blacklistv2/synopsis.html" target=_"blank">HBO</a> decided to continue the examination with <em><b><a href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1253295137/ref=gp_se_search-results-asin-redirect/191-1121879-8276437?ie=UTF8&asin=B002PBFZE8" target=_"blank">The Black List: Vol 2</a></em></b> which "<em>profiles some of today's most fascinating African-Americans. From the childhood inspirations that shaped their ambitions, to the evolving American landscape they helped define, to the importance of preserving a unique cultural identity for future generations, these prominent individuals offer a unique look into the zeitgeist of black America, redefining the traditional pejorative notion of a blacklist.</em>"<br /><center><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7-teE13p-kE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7-teE13p-kE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="350" height="300"></embed></object></center><br />A lot of people like to talk about art imitating life and vice-versa, but either way you look at it I think our celebrities and leaders help to begin to paint the picture of America’s current status in a variety of areas. Unfortunately, the success and acceptance of a lot of celebrities masks the inequities and injustices that many Americans today face due to status: racial, social, economical. <em><a href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1253295137/ref=gp_se_search-results-asin-redirect/191-1121879-8276437?ie=UTF8&asin=B002PBFZE8" target=_"blank">The Black List: Vol. 2</a></em> helps expose and unmask what is all too often a mystery or surprise to many Americans. And this is done through conversation and reflection. The entertainers and entrepreneurs featured in this volume – Maya Rudolph, Tyler Perry, and my man RZA – talk about those who have inspired them by making countless and overlooked sacrifices that have allowed all of us – regardless of race – to enjoy their talent.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SvtPssXYvWI/AAAAAAAAAHM/ztTM4-VBJdI/s1600-h/RZA_TheBlackList.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 228px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 207px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402999807203130722" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/SvtPssXYvWI/AAAAAAAAAHM/ztTM4-VBJdI/s320/RZA_TheBlackList.jpg" /></a><br /><br />I highly recommend picking up a copy; you can get it for mad cheap at <a href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1253295137/ref=gp_se_search-results-asin-redirect/191-1121879-8276437?ie=UTF8&asin=B002PBFZE8" target=_"blank">Target</a> and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to <a href="http://www.uncf.org/" target=_"blank">UNCF</a>. Pick it up, pop it in, and digest - I’m telling you no matter who you are you will find someone on here to relate to and a story that will touch you. <em><a href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1253295137/ref=gp_se_search-results-asin-redirect/191-1121879-8276437?ie=UTF8&asin=B002PBFZE8" target=_"blank">The Black List: Vol. 2</a></em> trascends race and becomes something more - an invaluable dialogue in which we should all take part.<br /><br />You can catch/follow The Black List at any of the below links:<br /><a href="http://blacklistproject.com/" target=_"blank">Webpage</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/blacklist1" target=_"blank">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Black-List-Project/51434763571" target=_"blank">Facebook</a> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/blacklistproject" target=_"blank">Myspace</a><br /><br />And make sure you check out the below <b>exlusive</b> interview with R3's new favorite woman, Maya Rudolph.<br /><center><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ys0M9u0wQUA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ys0M9u0wQUA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="350" height="300"></embed></object></center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276140643769826410.post-81428160907352004902009-09-27T11:25:00.014-04:002009-09-28T17:29:15.720-04:00Keepin' It Really Reel Award - September '09I’m not the type of person who gets surprised easily. I tend to stand back from situations and analyze the people and events involved and try to make as objective a conclusion as possible. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Sr-MBJz6YNI/AAAAAAAAAGc/131Oto90lGQ/s1600-h/Angelina+Jolie+Oscar.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Sr-MBJz6YNI/AAAAAAAAAGc/131Oto90lGQ/s320/Angelina+Jolie+Oscar.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386177630799814866" /></a>And since most people don’t change, or I’m just too young to have seen it, I’d say I have Ted Williams-ish reliability. But here I am to admit that I have made a mistake about one of America’s “it” ladies. No doubt she’s done amazing things the world over, but I was just never sold on her as a top shelf actor – or class-A beauty, but that’s neither here nor there. Angelina Jolie, I offer my apologies for doubting your acting chops. I don’t know why I thought I could disprove your talent especially since you come from a talented family. If this apology is not enough I’m sure I can think of something to make up for it. Ah, I’ve got it! How about the September 2009 Keepin’ It Really Reel Award? (Ms. Jolie was not available for comment).<br /><br />I never outright said I hated her, but I did take a few cheap shots in one <a href="http://reallyreelreviews.blogspot.com/2009/06/keepin-it-really-reel-award-1.html" target=_"blank">entry about female action heroes</a>. But looking at it honestly, the movies were hokey and what was she supposed to do with a role like Lara Croft? Even an infant could see she was given the role solely because of her physical appearance, and while the people with a logical brain were obviously on a beer run, someone thought they had a hit movie on their hands. But redemption comes along but so often and for mine and Angeline’s relationship it came in the form of not one, but two movies I saw this month, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829459/" target=_"blank">A Mighty Heart</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824747/" target=_"blank">Changeling</a></em>.<br /><br /><object width="300" height="250"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q1veXdaZtI4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q1veXdaZtI4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" ALIGN="RIGHT" width="300" height="250"></embed></object> <em>A Mighty Heart</em> is the true story of <em>Wall Street Journal</em> reporter Daniel Pearl’s abduction as told through the eyes of his pregnant wife, Marianne Pearl. Sometimes it’s hard to say how you feel about a true story because the events are so traumatic, so powerful that the eyes of objectivity are blinded. But this is a movie when you have to sit through the anger, the heartbreak, and the frustration so that you can take away its lessons. And the only reason it works simultaneously as a form of entertainment and honor is because of Angelina Jolie’s performance. We first meet her as the patient, understanding, loving wife and mother-to-be that she is. But what follows is a world wind of a performance that knocks you off your feet and leaves you speechless. Even in the saddest or most uplifting of movies I never cry; this was not one of those times (I actually didn’t cry. I was close, but this statement is staying in for effect!). It’s a movie that is so heavy I can’t outright recommend it to people without the “<b>approach with caution</b>” disclaimer, but <em>A Mighty Heart</em> is one incredible film held up by the shoulders of Angelina Jolie. – <b>4 reels out of 5</b><br /><br />And then there is <em>Changeling</em>; the true story of Christine Collins and her search for her son, Walter. The LAPD, in their attempts to save face and hide corruption, deliver to her a child that is not her son, and, in the craziest of true story twists, consult doctors and experts who deem Christine “mentally unstable” for not recognizing her own son! As my wife has said, “this is one of the best movies I hate.” <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Sr-MvjaI70I/AAAAAAAAAGk/VvS0aY6bpw0/s1600-h/Changeling.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Sr-MvjaI70I/AAAAAAAAAGk/VvS0aY6bpw0/s320/Changeling.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386178427945021250" /></a>What she means is that it’s just a tough pill to swallow; it’s never fun seeing kids disappear and having to go through the thought process of all the terrible things that could happen to them (see <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452623/" target=_"blank">Gone Baby Gone</a></em>). And that anger, disgust, and frustration is only heightened by the deliberate attempts of the LAPD to stymie Christine’s efforts of finding her real son. Think about it: being told you’re crazy by the people who know they made a mistake and whose job it is to protect you – that’s like being buried alive; there is no more claustrophobic feeling than that. But the reason we continue on the journey is because Angelina Jolie captivates us at every turn. Obviously we want to know what happened to Walter and what will happen to all those involved in this conspiracy, but the unease in our stomach is settled a bit by Jolie. Her performance is honest and visceral (I’m sure being a mother of 19 kids helps) and for that this pill goes down a bit easier…of course you’ll never take another dose. – <b>3 reels out of 5</b><br /><br />There you have it. But is that enough to take home this month’s award? The reason Angelina Jolie deserves the award is because it’s clear that she makes movies she wants to make. She has an amazing talent and that shouldn’t be overlooked because of films like <em>Tomb Raider</em> or <em>Wanted</em>. Perhaps these movies allow her to do all the things she does in her real life as a just and honorable human being and ambassador to human rights and world heath. And those are the reasons that Angelina Jolie takes home September’s award – because all she knows how to do is Keep it Really Reel - on screen and off.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Sr-H-nc1zCI/AAAAAAAAAGU/NoJLs0Pp6-g/s1600-h/Angelina+Jolie+UNHCR.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0GIib6P35A4/Sr-H-nc1zCI/AAAAAAAAAGU/NoJLs0Pp6-g/s320/Angelina+Jolie+UNHCR.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386173189169990690" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0