Podcastpalooza Part 2

Let's jump right in to round two. There's no categories this time around, just more awesome podcasts.

WDW Today iTunes
Matt, Mike, Len, and Mike are marathon podcasters. Not only do they put out three 20 minute episodes a week but Mike Scopa and Len Testa are actual real marathon runners. WDW Today is a podcast that covers everything you need to know about Walt Disney World. The focus is more on giving advice for vacationers vs. commenting on rumors or news. The information is tremendous and the podcast is very entertaining with Len, in particular, being very funny and quick witted.

The Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish with Jim Hill iTunes
Len Testa from the WDW Today podcast has started putting out this show with Jim Hill. Each episode, the gentlemen pick a destination at Walt Disney World (a park or group of resorts) and record themselves as they take a leisurely stroll. Jim Hill is one of the most connected people to the history and inner workings of Walt Disney World. He is a fountain of Disney knowledge. If you want to know why certain decisions were made at the World then this is your podcast. I should warn you though, some of the meaty dishes they serve up will leave you distraught at what could have been over the years. Disney has shelved some amazing ideas, almost always for the wrong reason, money.

Mike and Tom Eat Snacks iTunes
Michael Ian Black, probably best known as a commentator on VH1's myriad of pop shows like I Love the 80s, is one half of this hilarious snack-commenting duo. The other half, Tom Cavanagh, is best known as the lead actor on the TV show Ed. The set-up for the podcast is that each week, they pick a snack, rate it, and comment on it. Oh, but it is so much more than a simple food rating show. The guys are best friends and if they talk about the actual snack for longer than five minutes, it is a rare event. They are improv actors so if subject comes up, no matter how wacky, they'll just run with it until they completely exhaust it. You will be laughing nonstop as you listen and you might learn a thing or two about Fritos.

The Tobolowsky Files iTunes
Stephen Tobolowsky is an amazing story teller. You probably best know him as Ned Ryerson from the movie Groundhog Day. (Bing! Watch out for that first step, it's a doozy). Tobolowsky has been a character actor in Hollywood for a very long time but his stories of acting are just the tip of iceberg. This man has lived and his ability to tell stories is one of the most amazing gifts I've ever listened to. He puts you right there and the emotion he conveys is staggering. This is a can't miss podcast.

Those are the main ones I wanted to talk about but I do want to mention a couple of quick ones.

Fuzzy Typewriter iTunes
Paul Montgomery is one of the main writers on the iFanboy site. He runs this personal podcast where he covers whatever fancies him. He also runs a book club through the podcast.

Creative Screenwriting Magazine Podcastalley
Jeff Goldsmith ran this podcast for years. It has since ended but the backload is still on the internet to explore. Jeff hosted movie screenings and would then have a Q&A with the writers of the film afterwords. This is a great podcast for writers, movie aficionados, or anyone that wants a peek behind the curtain of Hollywood.

The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith iTunes
This is the podcast Jeff moved to after he left the Screenwriting Magazine. He continues with his great interviews and it's still going strong.

How Did This Get Made? iTunes
A few stand-up comedians, some of them recognizable from the VH1 shows, put out this podcast. They pick a generally agreed upon, awful movie and ask the question, How did this pile of trash get made? Who made these decisions? Who put Richard Prior in Superman 3? These are valid questions that need answering.

Weekend Confirmed iTunes
This is a great video game podcast that covers a lot of the same ground as the GiantBomb guys. Jeff Cannata (the best thing about the TotallyRadShow) is a co-host so follow this podcast just for him alone.

There you go. That's what I listen to. I told you it's almost like having a second job. A second job while I'm working my main job. But, I do love them. I hope you will too.

Part 1

Podcasts I Love

It didn't come into focus until I decided to write this post but podcasts make up a significant portion of my entertainment menagerie. I listen or watch at least one podcast every day and in the time I dedicate to some of my favorite shows, I could easily watch a movie or read 100-150 pages of a book.

Shows have gotten me through countless hours of my day job. If I know I'm going to be stuck at the computer for the next 2 hours, out comes the ipod and it's like I'm not even working—I'm just hanging out with a few of my faceless friends yapping in my earbuds.

I want to highlight some of my favorite podcasts. The podcasts are informative, geeky, hilarious, or just plain stupid. If you are new to podcasts, I hope I can open you up to a whole new world of entertainment. If you are an old pro, maybe there are a few new gems in here for you. If you like all the same ones I like,  I will validate that your taste is as finely tuned and correct as mine.

On media (movies, comic books, video games)

The Totally Rad Show iTunes
TRS covers all the main fields of geek entertainment. It's a video show that comes out five times a week. Each episode runs about fifteen minutes. The three hosts: Jeff, Alex, and Dan highlight a movie, video game, or other rad thing each day and give their honest impressions. The production values are pretty stellar with cool graphics and interstitials. They just had their five year anniversary and I've been with them every step of the way. Jeff and Alex have improv backgrounds so the laughs come frequently while Dan is an emerging movie director and his insights into film are top notch. I respect their reviews and point-of-views. Their show is one of the highlights of my day.

Giant Bombcast iTunes
I used to follow many video game podcasts. I spent countless hours listening to different people on different shows say pretty much the same thing about the same games. It got kind of ridiculous how much of my time was spent listening about games I'd probably never play. I still listen to talk about games I'll probably never play but now it's just one group of people. It's the best group, though. Anchored by video game journalist superstar, Jeff Gerstmann, the Giant Bombcast is the one podcast I listen to above all others. Jeff, Ryan, Brad, Vinny, and Patrick make up the best video game commentators in the business. All my video game knowledge comes from them. All my energy drink and dubstep information comes from them too. Their conversations can get hilariously derailed at any time but they always come back to the games. This is the best video game podcast from the guys behind Giant Bomb, one of Time magazine's top 50 websites of 2011.

iFanboy iTunes
The guys at iFanboy put out two shows. Their video show used to come out once a week but it now doesn't come out very often. Still, there is a big backload of videos with lots of cool information about the world of comics—very much worth checking out. The pick of the week podcast is my mainstay. Each week one of the three guys behind the site picks their favorite book that came out that week. They spend about ten minutes talking about the book and then do quick hits on another ten or so books before answering questions from their listeners. I've tried many books on their recommendation and since I don't have the budget to follow every comic out there, this is a great way for me to know what's happening in books that I can't pick up.

More on media (books and music)


iTunes Weekly Rewind and Celebrity Playlist Podcast iTunes for Celebrity Playlist
Sadly, both of these podcasts are now done. However, there are literally years of backlog to go through and if you have any interest in music, I highly recommend you at least check out the iTunes Weekly Rewind. The Rewind came out for years and they used the highlights of that week in music as a springboard into bigger conversations about artists. These guys know their stuff. There is such a grand world of music out there and I learned so much about artists from the 50s all the way up to the most recent obscure indie acts.

The Celebrity Playlist is just what it sounds like. You can cherry pick which shows interest you. You may not care what Snooki has to recommend but when someone like Neil Diamond recommends music, you listen.

Update—It seems that iTunes has pulled the archive of the Weekly Rewind. I can't discover why the show was cancelled in the first place and now with the archive being gone, the mystery deepens. The show descriptions are still up and worth going through and they list the great music featured in each episode. Show List

The Bookrageous Podcast iTunes
The guys and girls on this podcast are all booksellers and bloggers. Each show starts with them talking about what they are currently reading. They read tons. Most of them are juggling 2-4 books at a time so you get a lot of content. They tend to focus on mainstream new release literature but they branch out plenty. Each show has a theme that prompts them to talk about more than just what they are reading. They are passionate about books and my personal 'to read' list has grown exponentially since I started listening.

I'm going to break this into two posts since this is the end of my media podcasts. My next post will cover podcasts about Disney, screenwriting, snacks, and more. I'll have it up soon so please come back.

Part 2

Over the Top

During either 1985 or 1986, real living people got together in a room and said out loud, "We really need to make a professional arm wrestling movie."

From there another person said, "I will write that script." And yet another said, "I will produce and provide many millions of dollars for it, in fact, I'll give you enough money to hire Sylvester Stallone to play the arm wrestling athlete/person man."

I want to take this opportunity to thank these visionaries for, without them, Over the Top would not exist and the world would be a sadder place.

Yes, the acting is pretty horrible. Yes, the plot involving a bratty boy and his estranged, truck driving, professional arm wrestling dad is incredibly weak. By the way, I just wrote estranged, truck driving, professional arm wrestling dad. How does this movie not have 100% on rotten tomatoes?

For everything going against it, for all the ridiculousness, the movie works for me. I was 10-years-old when the movie was released and it really fit nicely in The Karate Kid mold of movie. You know, movies that end with awesome tournaments set to music.

The arm wrestlers are like comic book characters come to life. Or, better yet, they were like a hidden brand of the WWF which ruled my life at that time. How could one forget the grizzled, cigar eating man-thing of a man wearing a FUBAR army shirt? This movie taught me what FUBAR meant. Thanks, Dad! Kids, go ask your dad too. It's hilarious.

There were so many great moments in the tournament. There was the guy who gets his arm broken. There was the strap that connected the wrists in the final battle. Finally, there was the crane kick technique of arm wrestling movies, Stallone's amazing, finger-adjusting over the top maneuver.

I just lifted my hands off the keyboard and did it right now. Wait....I just did it again. That's it, where's my official Over the Top arm wrestling table. I'm starting a league. It will have a soundtrack, right?

The Expendables (Movie Review)

Having given his Rocky and Rambo franchises one last successful hurrah in recent years, Sylvester Stallone decided to put a nice and tidy bow on the over-the-top 1980s action movie phenomenon with his self-directed homage to the genre, The Expendables.

Stallone gathered up some of his old and new action buddies for a fun romp of a film that could have been lifted straight out of of 1985. A few of his 80s action rivals, such as Bruce Willis and "the" Arnold, make small, tongue-in-cheek cameos in the film. But, of the well-known 80s stars, it seems only Stallone's pharmaceutically enhanced, leathery body was capable of the punishment this action-heavy movie would produce.

So, bring in the new blood. Jason Statham and Jet Li are the closest friends to Stallone's character in the movie and they get the most screen time. The other action-ready expendables are made up of Randy Couture, of mixed marital arts fame, and the hulking Terry Crews, of the Old Spice commercials. Mickey Rourke attempts to steal the award for most leathered and steroid enhanced but he only plays a retired member of the crew who gets to cry, tattoo, and give advice.

Dolph "I will crush you" Lundrgren is the loose-cannon of the group who has fallen on hard times and can not be trusted. He plays a small, but pivotal role in the film.

If you've seen any 80s action film you know the general plot of this film. It goes something like this: bad dictator, people in danger, things and people get blown up, heroes come in, bad people and bad things get blown up, drink beer to Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Stallone does inject a little heart and sappiness into the story so it's not all guts and glory but for the most part it's lots and lots of action.

Two memorable moments stood out for me from the film. The first was Terry Crews' ridiculous gun. If you have seen the movie Predator, you may remember the amazing gun that Jesse "The Body" Ventura utilized to mow down half of the jungle. Well, Terry Crew's gun is that set to a 11. When he shows up with it and literally starts eviscerating people, well, it's a thing of pure beauty.

Before I chronicle that other amusing part of the movie, I have to mention that Stone Cold Steve Austin plays a heavy for the bad guys. He kind of skulks around and is menacing and you know that sooner or later he is going to battle it out with the expendables. He actually has one hell of a fight with Stallone that ends in kind of a stand still but I think Stone Cold got the better of Rocky.

However, this is not the last man-to-man fight that Steve Austin has in the film. Nope, out of nowhere he has a quick and brutal confrontation with Randy Couture. Now, Couture is by now means a main person in the expendables crew. He has a few amusing lines but for the most part he's just another body in the group. But, in real life he was a legitimate badass college wrestler and as soon as he started mixing it up on screen with one of the most famous WWE, a la fake, wresters of all time, I thought the outcome would be extremely interesting.

In any other action movie, a main bad guy like the one Austin was portraying would have quickly and brutally killed Couture's character in order to have a real emotional scene of the villain killing a likable good guy. Yet, in an obvious attempt at stating to the world that a real wrestler would never lose to a fake wrestler, even in a fantasy, macho-male action movie, Couture bests Stone Cold in a shockingly quick and nasty way. I laughed out loud at the audacity of the scene but it was still highly entertaining.

The Expendables is a great throwback film and I think Sylvester Stallone succeeded in what he set out to make. I actually hope he's able to make a sequel or two as all the characters are really enjoyable to watch and things blow up real good.

Going the Distance (Movie Review)

Going the Distance is an interesting movie. Sometimes, interesting is a really good thing. Inception is a very interesting movie, for instance. However, used in the context of Going the Distance, interesting is not a positive.

I knew before watching that Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, the hip guy from the Mac commercials, were/are a real life couple. So, it's very interesting that I didn't feel any spark from them on screen. Sure, they kiss real good and stuff but for a couple slowly falling in love I just felt cold towards them.

Barrymore's character wants to break in to the the newspaper business while Long is toiling away in the recording industry. Neither is happy in work or in love so when they bump into each other at a bar, the sparks don't exactly fly. In fact, their first meeting ranks as one of the most awkward, unromantic, and forced scenarios I've seen on film.

Barrymore plays her role very hard for most of the movie. By hard I mean that she comes off as unemotional and uninterested by anything that is happening to her. Long, on the other hand, is at least given amusing friends to banter with and show some personality.

The couple knows up front that they only have a short time together because Barrymore is leaving for San Francisco to finish up school. After the obligatory 'we're falling in love' montage, she eventually leaves and since I never bought the romance to begin with, I hardly cared.

One important thing to note is that the movie is pretty filthy language-wise which surprised me. I expect explicit talk about genitals and sex when I watch a movie like The Hangover or The 40-Year-Old Virgin but it was really out of place here. It's never funny when the characters start talking this way and it's pretty embarrassing to watch.

If you've seen the trailer for the film, you've seen 90% of the best comedy the movie has to offer. There are a few other chuckles to be had from the friends of the couple but that's about it. There are certainly worse romantic comedies out there that have made way more money. Going the Distance does try to be a little original in the romantic genre but it fails mostly. Laughs are to be found that make it worth seeing on cable TV but until then, give it a pass.

Easy A (Movie Review)

I had read good things about the movie, Easy A. I read the lead actress, Emma Stone, was charming and perfect in her role as a girl who tells a little white lie about losing her virginity and finds herself becoming her high school's version of Hester Prynne, she of the scarlet A, from Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter.

After reading such nice words, I watched the trailer and was immediately filled with dread. One of the things I dislike most in literature and movies are clichéd characters and Easy A seemed to feature one these characters I hate the most; the bitchy, bullying, most popular, holier than thou school girl. Like, totally!

I gave the movie a chance even with my reservations and I'm so very glad I did. Easy A is very smartly written. One of the major points of the movie is to take down these clichés and tired story tropes. Olive, Emma Stone's character, constantly acknowledges how absurd her situation is and how beyond normal sense the people around her are acting.

In other words, her character reacts exactly how you or I would act if we plopped down in one of these movies. We'd laugh in the bullies' faces and blow them off and this is exactly what happens in the movie and it is great.

Even though Easy A uses The Scarlet Letter as a jumping off point, this is a comedy. I found myself smiling the whole time. Her parents, especially her dad played by Stanley Tucci, are possibly the coolest parents ever on film.

As Olive's reputation gets more absurd and the rumors get out of hand, the movie still manages to be very sweet and endearing and that's quite an accomplishment considering how nasty all her fellow students are towards her.

Easy A was a pleasant surprise and a great way to kick start my 2011 movie watching.

My Top 5 Movies of 2010

The necessary disclaimer first. I considered all movies I personally saw in 2010. With that in mind, some that came out in 2009 snuck into my top 5. Alas, I haven't seen any of the late 2010 contenders for the best picture Oscar. Sorry, True Grit, Black Swan, Social Network etc.

My list is still pretty solid.

5. How to Train Your Dragon
I just saw this with the family. I was blown away by it. I usually don't regret not seeing a movie in 3D but this looks like it would have been amazing on the big screen in 3D. It's a fun, well-written movie that is great for the whole family. Also, it has Craig Ferguson in it doing a major character so that's top 5 material already.

4. 500 Days of Summer
The ending bummed me out a bit but it didn't alter my feelings for the rest of the movie. Jason Gordon Levitt is one of the great young actors. He elevates all of his movies. His acting is tremendous as he goes through love and heart break. Of course, there's also the amazing musical number featuring Huey Lewis's The Power of Love with a winking cameo appearance by Han Solo.

3. Inception
Well, hello there again Mr. Gordon Levitt. While you didn't make Inception the blockbuster it turned out to be you certainly didn't hinder it. No, what sets this movie apart are the mind bending dreams and killer heist sequences. I read everywhere how people wanted to see this movie again right away. For me, once was enough. I got it. It was fantastically twisted and leaped right to the top of my favorite movies.

2. Toy Story 3
The end of this movie emotionally effected me more than any movie I can ever remember seeing. First, the toys are in mortal peril at the trash dump and then, less than twenty minutes later, Andy is faced with what to do now that he's heading off to college. Seriously, that last scene between Andy and the little girl wrecked me. A beautiful, thrilling, and surprisingly emotional movie. Toy Story 3 is a grown man's Beaches.

1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The chances are you didn't see this. For whatever reason, Scott Pilgrim was largely ignored by the movie going public. Michael Cera fatigue? Perhaps. Weird, comic booky sequences that were hard to make sense of? I can see that. However, for me and the other loyal fans, this movie is pure bliss. I grew up in the 8-bit video game era and this movie not only speaks to me, it sings a freaking opera. The comedy is pure gold. I always laugh hysterically when Cera launches himself through the window to avoid his ex-girlfriend. The special effects I would put up against anything else that came out this year. And, then there is that soundtrack. My goodness, that amazing, note perfect soundtrack. The music makes this movie for me.

Back on the Bullseye

Um, yeah, over a month since my last post. There's a good reason. And that reason is grumsshgwa....

Moving on, I saw Toy Story 3. I am now a broken weeping shell of a man for the remainder of my days. Thanks, Pixar!

In all seriousness, Toy Story 3 is a masterpiece in storytelling, art, and emotional manipulation. The evil men and women at Pixar know that we, the general populace, has had Woody, Buzz, and the whole toy gang in our lives for the better part of fifteen years.

Armed with this knowledge, the filmmakers run our beloved characters through such a gut-wrenching turn-of-events that even two weeks after seeing the movie, it is still hard for me to visualize certain scenes and not get a little choked up about it.

This time around, it's 11 years since we last saw Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and the rest of Andy's toys. They've spent the last few years being stored away in a trunk in Andy's room. They long to be played with but, overall, they are not too bad off.

However, Andy is now a grown young man and he's getting ready to leave for college. The best case scenario for the toys is that they get packed up nicely and stored in the attic. They don't even want to dare think that they might get tossed to the curb as common trash. Of course, Andy is not the type of person to toss beloved childhood heirlooms, but, in a crazy, mad cap twist of events, the toys find themselves packed up and donated to the local day care center.

They are welcomed with open arms by the day care center's toys, including their leader, a pink stuffed bear named Lotso. The day care center seems on the surface to be toy nirvana and Andy's toys go against Woody's better judgement and decide it's the best place for them.

Woody, however, feels Andy needs him and he makes a break for it. Little do the other toys realize that escaping the day care center would have been in their very best interest as not all is at it seems in Lotso's kingdom.

That is the general set-up, but I'm mainly going to focus on the end of the film. It's still too soon to get into specifics but those that have seen the movie know that the last half-hour of the film is one of most powerfully written pieces of cinema that has ever been crafted.

As an ending to a beloved trilogy of films, it works beautifully in signaling the end of one journey for Andy's loved toys while at the same time opening the door to new possibilities.

What really makes the ending so emotional though is that you can't but help relate it to your own personal experiences. It can be as simple as a memory being jogged of when you had to let go of a loved toy or profound as a personal realization of when you lost your childhood innocence.

You'll remember the day you first moved out of your childhood home and you'll vividly recall seeing your parents well up with tears. Although, now, you'll understand your parents tears a little better.

For parents, the movie will remind you that your little girl or boy has grown up and moved out, or, even if they are still babies, that your precious little ones will, sooner than you think, not be your little babies anymore but grown, strong men and women.

The movie has the action set pieces, the laugh-out-loud moments of humor, and the inventive new characters but, really, these things fall to the back of your memory after you experience the last third of the movie.

Toy Story 3 automatically vaults into my personal top ten movies of all times. It's a work-of-art. It's really a movie that you owe it yourself to see and I think I can honestly say it will be one of most poignant and important two hours you will ever spend in your life.

Iron Man 2 (Movie Review)

What's this? An actual movie review of a movie that's still in the theaters? You don't believe it? Well, I'm here to tell you that it is indeed true. I saw Iron Man 2 and lived to tell the tale. Although, waiting through the end credits to see the little teaser piece nearly put me in a coma. Do we really need to list every single graphic artist that works at every one of the 50 digital effects companies you used in making the film?

But, I digress. The original Iron Man shouldn't have been a monster hit. In a world of Batmen, Spider-Men, and Supermen, Iron Man just isn't in the same league in the comic book world or in the viewpoint of regular Joe moviegoer. However, when something is cool, it's just cool and the original Iron Man was freaking cool and audiences ate it up.

Robert Downey, Jr. is the living embodiment of Tony Stark. He's got the swagger and the presence to play exactly what Tony Stark is supposed to be, an over-the-top, brilliant playboy. Mix in some superb directing by John Favreau, a very competent script, and really convincing special effects and the result was simply oozing with coolness.

Iron Man 2 picks right up where the first left off with Tony revealing to the world that he is Iron Man. This brings all sorts of trouble his way. The U.S. government wants the suit. A competing weapons manufacturer envies Tony's success and wants everything that Tony has.

These are major threats but they turn out to be side events compared to an unknown threat that Tony must face from the other side of the world. Stark enterprises certainly couldn't achieve it's lofty status without making a few enemies. Along these lines, a genius, ruthless Russian played by Mickey Rourke decides his mission in life is to destroy all that Tony Stark stands for because of perceived wrongs that Tony's father inflicted on his family.

All this and Tony is slowly dying because the element that powers his suit is contaminating his blood. It's quite the deck stacked against Iron Man and he doesn't exactly deal with it well. He alienates his friends and allies as he collapses in on himself in self pity.

That's the basic set up of the film. Now, what really works in the film is Mickey Rourke as the villain. We get a good glimpse into his agenda and he's a great mix of a terrifying brute and a super brain. Iron Man 2 also takes its time a little more than the first film and has more character moments that work pretty well.

The action, on the other hand, didn't quite do it for me. There are no moments in this film as cool as the flight with the fighter jets or blowing up the tank from the original Iron Man. The action can best be described this way.

Pretty amazing sequence against Whiplash at the car race. It's by far the most effective action set piece.

Man in suit vs. man in suit.

Man in suit vs. robots that look like men in suits. And, then there's more robots that look like men in suits.

Finally, there's two men in suits vs. angry guy in suit.

Universally, the one negative thing most fanboys agreed was disappointing in the first film was that the last action sequence revolved around Tony slugging it out with Warmonger in a battle of iron suits. It didn't live up to the rest of the film and felt very simplistic when the rest of the movie had been so masterfully put together.

In Iron Man 2, it seems that the producers of the first film absolutely loved the big machine vs. machine ending and decided to do that times ten in the sequel. All the fights take place at night and except for Iron Man, all the evil machines are gray or black and it's quite boring to look at.

Iron Man does not have the gallery of villains that Batman or Spider-Man has and, unfortunately, it really showed in this film. Iron Man is still cool but he needs his version of the Joker or this franchise will get stale really quick.

Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, and Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, have minor parts in the film but they are really just set up for the Avengers movie that is coming in a few years. I'm still really a fan of what Marvel is doing with their shared universe of movies and I really am looking forward to the Thor and Captain America movies.

However, for me, Iron Man 2 was a marginally sized bump in the road that didn't live up to my lofty expectations. I hope the future Marvel movies can  recapture the magic of the first film and just make everything cool again.

Sherlock Holmes (Movie Review)

Welcome to Robert Downey, Jr. corner. For my next two reviews, I'll be examining the most recent additions to Mr. Downey's oeuvre.

First up, is this past holiday's smash hit, Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey, Jr. plays the title role while Jude Law plays Dr. Watson. Both actors do a great job in this new, action hero-light version of a Sherlock Holmes story.

Holmes can be played many different ways. In this film, Downey portrays Holmes as an eccentric genius whose barely holding onto his sanity. Holmes needs a constant challenge to his intellect or he becomes dangerously depressed. If he lived in modern times, he'd either be working for the NSA or locked up in a mental institution as a danger to society.

Luckily for the detective's brain, he becomes engaged in a twisted mystery of demonic cults and witchcraft that tests his wits to the fullest. I came into this film knowing his stories were rooted in reality so it was a tad predictable that Holmes would eventually pick apart each seemingly supernatural event that happens in the film and explain them with simple, real world logic.

However predictable the plot of the movie, the ride the movie makers take the audience on isn't any less enjoyable. There are great gag sequences where Holmes and Watson bumble their way through insurmountable odds. I also enjoyed how Holmes broke down a fight in his brain and then executed every move to perfection. The physical special effects in these fighting spots were really tremendous. It really looked like Holmes was breaking jaws and delivering devastating blows to his enemies.

Rachael McAdams plays a quasi-romantic interest for Holmes. I'm not sure if her character has an established history in the universe created by Sir Author Conan Doyle or if she was created for the film. She just felt odd to me and her effect over Holmes seemed out of character for him. The detective's advanced intellect almost makes him incapable of real human emotion and his fumbling over her every step felt a little forced.

A few more quick points, both in the positive and negative categories.

I thought the score of the film was really unique and really stood out.

I had a lot of trouble understanding Robert Downey, Jr. throughout the whole film. He kind of mumbles in this gruff understated voice and I'm certain I missed half of what I'm sure were witty one liners.

Overall, the special effects worked perfectly in creating the world of historical London. In a movie like this, it is really the job of the effects to put you squarely in the world and they shouldn't pop out at you like they do in a sci-fi or superhero movie. The effects succeed quite well in this regard.

I can't wait for the sequel which will delve into Holmes's rivalry with Professor Moriarty. If it's anywhere as close in execution as this first film, is should be tremendously fun.

Madagascar 2, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Hangover, Terminator: Salvation

Let's pump out some movie reviews that most of you probably saw a year ago but I'm just now getting to watch.

First up, Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa. It's OK. The penguins are funny. They are in Africa this time and the story is a poor man's Lion King-type tale. Did I mention the penguins are funny? Alright. Let's move on to the the next review.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is up next. Natasha and I enjoyed the movie. It's a little quirky and drags at times, but, overall, the story and characters kept us entertained. I really like the score to the film. It was a nice mix of folksy songs and funky beats. The most amusing part of the film was that the animals are completely humanized for 90% of the film and then out of the blue they'll just snap and become animalistic and devour the meals on their plate or growl at the weirdest times. Actually, this dichotomy is kind of the whole point of the film.

I was really expecting The Hangover to be over-the-top raunchy, but, unless you sit through the pictures that run through the end credits, the movie is refreshingly reserved in its raunch. Now, don't get me wrong, the movie goes places that are hilariously wrong and squeamishly awkward to watch. However, they don't quite cross the line into vulgarity and my wife and I finally found a movie that sat nicely on the border of being sick and twisted enough for me while not completely offending her.

Speaking of being offended, let's briefly touch on Terminator Salvation. What a wasted opportunity. Someone finally ponied up the money to let a director tell a story that takes place in the machine-ravaged future of the terminator universe. The movie makers then blow it by choosing to tell a tiny yarn to fill in a gap of information from the original movies that I could care less about. I wanted to see John Connor in full leadership mode and completely taking it to the machines. Instead I get the equivalent of the Star Wars prequels. I know you know that the audience knows that we know that Kyle Reese is going to go back in time and get it on with Sarah Connor while avoiding a terminator that has human skin. So, if I know all of this, what's the point of filling in the gap? Really, what's the point? Oh, I forgot to mention the acting is sub-par and the directing and production design just felt very weird and uninspired.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

I'm a history buff so I get a lot of fun from these Ben Stiller movies. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian does a lot of what the first movie did well while adding a little too much goofiness for my taste.

This time around, the Egyptian artifact and a majority of the historical figures from the first film get transported to the Smithsonian archives. Here they encounter an evil Egyptian lord who wants to take over the world and they do battle to prevent this from happening.

It feels like the producers of this movie lost a bet with Hank Azaria of The Simpsons fame and they were forced to give him a ridiculous amount of screen time and he was allowed to act as absurdly as he wanted to.

His portrayal of the Egyptian lord is simply jaw dropping in it's horribleness. Now, I know he's obviously not playing this anywhere close to straight but some of his choices are just bad. An over-the-top lisp in a character is kind of funny—if it's a small part—but, Azaria is in like 65% of this movie and the lisp takes the viewer right out of the little bit of plot there is to get invested in.

There are some exchanges between Azaria and Stiller that are painful to watch. They are trying their best to improv on the spot and score a little bit of movie magic but it doesn't work and the scenes just go on and on. You can literally see their brains working to come up with a funny quip, and, while they are both funny men, Robin Williams they are not.

There are a few decent performances in the film. Amy Adams has a good time portraying Amelia Earheart but her infatuation with Stiller's character is very forced. Owen Wilson's role as the miniature cowboy is expanded more and he has some fun lines and moments in the film.

I thought the classic paintings and photographs that come to life and interact with the characters was one of the more interesting additions to the film. Of course, it's a blatant rip-off of the Hogwarts paintings moving about in the Harry Potter franchise but it's cool nonetheless.

If you enjoyed the first film of the series or you want to see the train wreck that is Hank Azaria overacting, I think the film is enjoyable enough to sit through. Oh, and Darth Vader is in it, albeit, he doesn't talk and it's just for a small gag. But, it's Darth Vader. Bonus.

Inglourious Basterds

Oh, Inglourious Basterds, you horribly violent and amazing film. Now, that was a dramatic experience. Never has people sitting at a table and talking for twenty minutes ever felt so tense and so action packed.

I almost wish the director, Quentin Tarantino, didn't have to yank us out of these magnificent scenes. Knowing that it's Tarantino behind the lens of these beautifully directed and acted conversations is what makes it even greater. At any moment, the S is going to hit the F and I could feel my pulse quickening as the stakes rise and the moment of truth inches closer.

There are probably five different scenes of dialogue in this film that if you pluck them out and set them in another movie would have been the climax of that film. The tension is literally exhausting and I found that when the violence finally comes, it's a welcome relief. It was like, phew, they mowed each other down with machine guns, I feel so much better now.

Yes, when the violence comes it is graphic. Tarantino pulls no punches on the visuals. More than the visuals, though, what really got me was who dies and how they die. Do not get attached to any character. One minute they are the focal point of the film and the next they are lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood and you are left thinking, what, huh, did that really just happen?

Christoph Waltz deserves another ten best supporting Oscars for his role as the "Jew Hunter". He's tremendous. The last major conversation between him and Brad Pitt where he is just giddy with excitement over the prospects of what he is proposing is one of the best acting jobs I've ever seen.

Being a Tarantino fan, I did see many of his storytelling techniques at work. There's the jumping view points to start the film that slowly coalesce into one big finale. Then there is the crazy shootout that seems to come out of nowhere although he's just spent the last twenty minutes of the film building to it. These signature stamps of his are amazing but I am starting to see them repeated a bit too often in his films.

Those little quibbles aside, Inglourious Basterds is a masterpiece of cinema. It's a workshop in screenplay writing and directing. There are scenes here that will be studied by film students for decades and even then they still may never know exactly how Tarantino pulled them off so brilliantly.

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife confused the hell out of me for the first forty-five minutes. It wasn't so much that I couldn't follow the story it's just that time travel stories, unless they involve Marty McFly, tend to make my head hurt.

Before I get into the time travel aspects of the film, let's look at why the relationship didn't work. It's my understanding that the book the movie is based on is a tremendous read and really delivers on the emotional moments. In the movie, however, I think the writers/director did a very poor job of making me understand why these two people love each other enough to put up with the crap they have to go through to stay together.

For instance, Rachel McAdams's character shows up when the time traveler, played by Eric Bana, is a down on his luck twenty-something. All it takes is for McAdams's character to say that she loves him and knows everything about him and Bana kind of just shrugs his shoulders and thinks to himself, hey, she's kind of good looking, I guess I should love her now.

Then there is the whole fact that the girl's love for the time traveler is based off of her childhood infatuation with an older man. It just felt wrong to me. Her love is entirely plausible but just icky. It was like I was watching the time travel version of the Celine Dion story.

Thinking about my confusion with the time travel in the story, I believe a lot of my over thinking could have been solved with a better visualization of Eric Bana. He always looked the same to me. One second he has a beard and the next he doesn't. The make-up department's grand illusion to make him look older was to give him facial hair. Well, he has face scrubble when we first meet him in his twenties so the whole time I'm trying to figure out which version of him I'm looking at instead of getting emotionally invested in the story.

I've been picking apart the movie up to this point. I suppose it's my frustration with a film I generally liked and feel that if they had done better with the points I mention above I would have really liked the movie.

The actors do a good job with what they have to work with and if you buy the reasons for them being together you start to see the chemistry between the actors. I also thought the last one-third was quite poignant and really well done. I just wish the set-up was as strong as the finish.

80s Three Amigos

"Together we raped the horses and rode off on the women and pruned the hedges of many small villages."

My hope was to jump out of just looking back on 80s movies and start hitting some of my other favorite memories from my youth. However, I couldn't find a cool way to get from Some Kind of Wonderful to something like He-Man so I'm going to do another movie and hope for the best next time.

Here's how I came to Three Amigos. It's rather simple. John Hughes wrote and produced Some Kind of Wonderful. Hughes also directed the 80s classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Those aren't pillows! That was a joke for people that have seen the movie.

Of course, one of the major stars in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles was Steve Martin and he starred with Chevy Chase and Martin Short in Three Amigos.

My opening quote is just one of several lines from Three Amigos that, no matter how many times I see the movie, make me die laughing. "Jefe, would you say you have a plethora?" Sorry, last random quote, I promise.

If you haven't seen the movie, first of all, shame on you. Secondly, the basic story is that three silent film actors who portray outrageous cowboys onscreen get caught up in a Mexican village's plight to free itself from its evil overlord, el guapo, and hilarity and invisible swordsmen ensue.

Having these three actors in this movie at the height of their popularity was just pure gold. They all deliver. Steve Martin plays the straight man, Martin Short is the innocent naive one, and Chevy Chase pretty much just plays a buffoon.

So many great memories. I will never forget my cousins doing the amigos salute. Three Amigos is a comedy classic and one of my favorite movies ever. "My little buttercup, with your eyes so blue. My little buttercup, your a dream come trueeeeee. Everybody!"

Everybody's Fine

I'm not too excited to relive this movie so this will be short. Everybody's Fine is a DRAMA. Capital letters intentional. Don't be fooled by the happy people in the poster. You will not smile much while watching this movie.

Is it Beaches depressing? No, it's not that bad. However, if you are reading this review before watching the film I feel I'm doing you a huge service.

I knew there was a chance of some downer moments. It is, after all, a movie about a dad trying to reconnect with his kids after years of not being able to communicate with them.

But, wow, not a hugely upbeat story. Robert Deniro delivers his usual—forgetting The Fan for a moment—amazing performance. He's not a badass mafia member here. He's very frail and it's quite amazing to see him pull off this role.

I'm not going to rehash the story but if you have recently lost a loved one or had a falling out with a parent or sibling, you may want to put this one on the back burner for a while. Everybody's Fine is well made and well directed but the next time I want to make myself this upset I'll just go bash my head into the wall a few times.

80s Some Kind of Wonderful

The trip from Beetlejuice to Some Kind of Wonderful goes like this. The actor, Jeffrey Jones played the dad of the family that moved into the house. You may also know him as the principal in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He was also in another 80s classic, Howard the Duck. By classic I mean it was awfully awesome.

One of his co-stars in Howard the Duck was Lea Thompson and Lea Thompson played the object of Eric Stoltz affection in Some Kind of Wonderful. Now, tell me that circuitous route wasn't fun?

I really love Some Kind of Wonderful. I love that it not only has the time honored movie tradition of the dorky guy going for the most popular girl in school but it also has his best friend, played by Mary Stuart Masterson, secretly pining for him.

It's the classic case of desiring so badly of being somewhere you perceive to be better that you don't realize that what's happening right in front of you is what you really need the most.

I think the stand-out here is Lea Thompson's character, Amanda Jones. In these types of movies, the popular girl of desire is usually shallow and while nice to look at, there's nothing there of substance. The main character usually finds that his dream girl is mean, rude, or dumb and moves on by the end of the movie.

Here, Amanda Jones is a real thought out character and not just a cliché. She's confused. She's torn between the popular, shallow life and what she knows is truer to herself. In a twist of the traditional movie convention, Eric Stoltz's character actually becomes more superficial while Amanda becomes more grounded.

It's really great writing and it's the writer, John Hughes, at the height of his 80s greatness. Some Kind of Wonderful isn't seen as being up there in the pantheon of Sixteen Candles or the Breakfast Club but it should be remembered in that elite company.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll give your stud earring to your best friend as a present. Check it out if you have never seen it or if you haven't seen it in a while go, revisit it. It's a forgotten classic.

80s. Pee-Wee leads to...

Last time I talked about how the robot in Flight of the Navigator talked like Pee-Wee Herman. Now, this could lead my thought process to a whole bunch of different places, not all of them pleasant.

The first thing that pops to mind is the obvious, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. I want to dig a little bit deeper than that and direct my attention to the director of that movie, Tim Burton. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure was Burton's first major gig but what really put him on the map is our 80s subject for today, Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice was one of the first movies I went to see with my friends without any parents. I remember sitting in the theater feeling all grown-up and just enjoying the hell out of the movie.

I think I was around eleven when I first saw it and even then I knew that the special effects were pretty amazing. The special effects and make-up units were pulling off stuff that had not been seen before.

There were people with shrunken heads, Alec Baldwin pulling his face in all directions and popping out his eyeballs, and Michael Keaton turning into a pretty terrifying snake.

How long did my friends and I sing lines like "come Mr. Tallyman tally me banana"? I'm not certain but I'm sure it was probably just long enough for family and teachers to want to kill us.

Of course, this movie also introduced us to Winona Ryder which would lead her to a glorious career in shoplifting.

Next, on the 80s road trip, Beetlejuice leads me directly to the movie, Some Kind of Wonderful? My logic will be revealed. Until next time, beware sand worms.

Six degrees of the 80s

I'm a proud child of the 80s. I strongly believe that there wasn't a greater time to be a kid than the decade of horrible hair, break dancing and He-Man. When not thinking about family, jobs, bills, or what's for dinner I'm generally daydreaming about the 80s.

If I'm thinking about it, I might as well write it down. This is going to go a little like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game. I'm going to start off with the first 80s thing that pops into my head and after I do a little write-up, I will find a way for it to awkwardly flow into another 80s nostalgia trip.

First up, off the top of my head, right this very second is: Flight of the Navigator. Wow, I didn't see that one coming.

Now, this is all from memory, but I believe Flight of the Navigator tells the tale of a young kid who gets taken away on space craft. I believe the robotic intelligence that runs the ship wants to study different species. Highlights from my memory involve the kid flying the spacecraft, a little snot-like rodent in a cage on the ship, and, of course, the robot talking exactly like Pee-Wee Herman.

I also recall being slightly disturbed that while the kid was off having a grand time in the ship his parents assumed he had been kidnapped and freaked out for years and years thinking he was dead. Yeah, not very Disney-like.

So, a robot that talks like Pee-Wee Herman will lead me to my next 80s topic. Stay tuned.

The Blind Side

Natasha hates football and she loved this movie. End of review.

A little more? OK. The basic story of  The Blind Side is based—some say very loosely—on a true story. Sandra Bullock's well-to-do southern family takes in a big-hearted and big boned African-American youth and gives him hope and a lesson or two in how to protect a quarterback from getting smothered by an all out blitz.

Sandra Bullock does a great job in her role and I can see why she garnered such attention during the award season. She really gets across how much she cares for her new family member and when she stands up for him against social prejudices I could feel the passion and really believe the performance.

The young actor playing Michael Oher didn't have a very demanding role. He did a good job of standing around and slumping his shoulders a lot but it was what the role called for and I can't fault him for that.

At the end of the day, this story is just another odd couple-type movie, but, this time, there's some good wholesome Christian values that drive the pairing. The awkward moments between the proper, blonde southern woman and the powerfully built black kid could have been painful to watch if acted differently or mismanaged by the director. They pull it off though and there are plenty of laughs and moments where you feel genuine pride in the decency of the family.