Derek Review

Ricky Gervais is the simple man named Derek. Netflix "new" show. Never mind that it played on the BBC first, they picked up the rights to air it stateside first. So we got 7 episodes of this show at once, as usual with Netflix. You can burn through the half hour long episodes real quick if you can sit through it that long. I made 5 before I had to stop.

Derek is about Derek Noakes, a nursing home helper and is a bit slow in the head. The show is a mockumentry style Gervais made famous with The Office. I was skeptical of how funny or how much I'd enjoy a show making fun of a mentally challenged person. But I gave it a shot. The first episode was a bit tough to get through, because I felt they were making fun of the mentally handicapped but that soon faded. While being funny, it was kind-hearted and had some genuinely sad moments, none at the expense of Derek's unnamed disability.

Defiantly not a pretty people show.

I am very much over the mochumentry style tv shows. I feel they have been over done and are generally not funny to me. Mainly because Reality TV shows are the same thing, staged/written events filmed with shaky cams and fake people talking at you. That is not to say I haven't enjoyed an episode or three of any Reality TV or mochumentry style show. I just prefer single camera narratives, shows that are like movies with big stories to tell. Derek has the over arching problem of not going anywhere fast. But is that a problem of the style or that it's a comedy? Hard to say. They do throw in a story of they have to come up with their own money to fund the nursing home but they gloss over if and never explain things.

Interesting product placement randomly thrown in.

The acting in this is generic British stand-in characters that can't exist in the real world. I have a hard time believing any of these people, aside from Derek, are real. Ricky Gervais does an outstanding job but I have yet to see why this show is around. Gervais based Derek on a character he used to do in his stand up. And the others are cardboard cutouts for him in interact with. It's been a week since I've seen it and I can't remember anyone's name.

"You can't remember my name? You dick."

Over all, I did enjoy the show. It was fun and touching all while been completely pointless. But when it comes down to it, isn't every show in some way pointless? So would I recommend it? Yes. You'll get attached to the Derek character very fast, rooting for him. You'll burn through this very fast, 30 minutes or so doesn't fill to much time. So pace yourself, and enjoy what little you are given. It's now on Netflix, give it go. 3 out of 5.

Movie of the Week: Traces of a Dragon: Jackie Chan & His Lost Family

So something I don't normally talk about, my love for kung fu movies. I get great enjoyment out of them, and there are quite a few action stars that I watch. Jackie Chan is one of the first for me. I'd seen his movies before, but it wasn't until I saw Rumble In The Bronx on the big screen that I really came to under just how awesome Jackie Chan was. And that wasn't his best work, I came to find that later. My friend Eric and I would watch these great kung fu movies and  it was the best of times. 

Now I say this to point out my own naivete when it can to Asian culture and lack of knowledge in the subject of a kung fu movie. I've been watching collections of great stars, trying to enjoy them with subtitles and not badly dubbed. Jackie Chan's weren't as bad because he spoke English and dubbed most of his works. Now I've come accustom to both formats and don't mind either. Years ago, I would have hated this documentary.

Ugh, I have to read!?

So I saw this documentary was added to Netflix and saw Jackie Chan's name. I read the info about was intrigued. It wasn't about Jackie's rise or his childhood per se. It was about him finally learning about his parents past and that he had four siblings he didn't know; as well as a different sir name. It's an emotional ride as you learn the super rough time his dad had growing up and trying to make it in war torn China. You learn with Jackie about his dad's past, and his brothers from another mother. Then you hear the tale of his mother who had it equally tough and find out about Jackie's two sisters from another father. Both stories are heart wrenching, and tragic tales of just how hard it was growing up, raising a family, and the painful choices one makes for family in those times.

Jackie's Dad is a badass.

Not at all what I was excepting from this documentary, but it was amazing. I love learning about the past history of other countries. My ignorance to what the rest of the world has or is going through gets cleared up a little more with just taking the time to listen and understand why things happen. I really recommend this, you should check it out. 3 out of 5.

Movie Of The Week: Serenity

If you don't know what Firefly is yet, do yourself a favor and go watch all of it on Netflix right now. It is one of the best shows ever. Recently I got the itch to watch it all over again, for the 4th or 5th time now. Fourteen episodes of awesome. And this movie is the perfect end-cap to the whole thing. While not every question gets answers, it ties a nice bow on this great show turned cult favorite that got cut down way to early.

What makes Firefly/Serenity so great? Several things but mainly the great characters played by amazing actors. The future being not as shiny as Star Trek, but not as fantastical as Star Wars, or as boring as Battlestar Galactica (personal opinion on that one) and it has a wonderful sense of humor. It is also a little more realistic in its dealings of physics of space. This movie does work as a standalone, hell I saw this before I even heard of Firefly and thought it was amazing. To find out there was more, I was ecstatic. Watching it after watching all of the show is definitely more impactful with the events that transpire in the film. The movie is definitely in the same vain as the show, you can't tell the difference from the two (aside from better effects). Not like going from Star Trek The Next Generation to any of its movies, which look and feel tonally different. It helps that the main writer was still the one to write the movie, as well as direct it.

So if you have 12 hours to kill, or if you ever want to feel complete in your life, I recommend marathoning all of Firefly and Serenity. You won't be disappointed.

Movie of the Week: The American Scream

Well, it's that time again. Time for me to do a movie of the week, and time for me to recommend another documentary on Netflix! This week, I decided to pick The American Scream. This film documents a few different people and the time and money they spend preparing their houses for Halloween. They turn their houses into haunted houses, sounds simple, right?! No, these people (especially their families) go through hell trying to do this.

It's quite interesting to see how much these people go through, just for their love of Halloween. There are quite a few interesting characters as well. I found myself hooked within the first few minutes, just in awe of what I was seeing. This also showed me that I will NEVER go through that much just for one day. That sounds like no fun, and I don't like doing things that aren't fun. These people are absolutely fucking crazy.

I'd check it out while it's streaming on Netflix, it's really worth a look. 4...FUCKING...STARS.

Movie of the Week: Superman Unbound

It's a fact that I like cartoons. Animated features are always cool to check out, and Netflix has a bunch so you can always go there. But over the past few years, DC Comics and Warner Brothers have been putting out some great straight to dvd movies. They offer more than the live action market which is just Batman, Green Lantern, and soon the new Superman movie. Most of these animated movies are retellings of popular trades released some time ago. Like the Batman: Year One series or several other Superman stories.

What I like about these is that you can just jump right in. No bullshit explaining who Superman is or what he can do. They expect you to know that by now, and no, not every straight to dvd movie is a sequel to the last. So you don't have to have seen that one. They are much like an animated tv show, only in a 90 minute chunk.

Superman Unbound is based on the Superman: Brainiac story. It brings in Supergirl, the city of Kandor, and of course the villain Brainiac. While the trailer below is a bit silly, what with the "Welcome to Erf" line, it is an over all enjoyable experience. So if you enjoy DC Comics, or their movies, or even watched their cartoons as a kid, you'll like Superman Unbound! Go rent it, or wait for it to eventually come on Netflix.

Movie of the Week: The Imposter

So it's my time to do a movie of the week again, so I've obviously found another awesome documentary for you to check out! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! This has kind of become my thing, and I'm okay with that. This is a pretty strange story that I had never even heard of, but I stumbled upon this while browsing Netflix and was pretty blown away.

Without spoiling too much, a kid went missing, a guy pretends that he's a kid so the cops will take him to a shelter, and later uses the missing kids identity so he doesn't get caught. As fucked up as all of that sounds, it only gets stranger and more confusing. I was hooked into this story after about the first five minutes. I really can't say much more than I have without spoiling it (Why would you want to watch a documentary that was totally spoiled for you, idiot?!) So I'm not going to say too much more about it.

You should check this one out, as it is on Netflix's instant queue. It's an extremely strange story, emotional, and overall just an awesome documentary. WATCH IT! Seriously, what are you waiting for? Oh, you're still here? Go to your Netflix enabled device and watch this...right now. Do it. DO IT!!

Heavenly Creatures Review

So this week I literally had no idea what I was going to review. So I decided "Why not just review the last movie I watched!" That just happens to be this movie, Heavenly Creatures. I hadn't even heard of this movie before, but I was looking around Netflix for something to watch, and this is what I decided to watch last night.

As you can see, Kate Winslet is in this movie, this film actually "introduced" her. (The same goes for Melanie Lynskey). This is also a Peter Jackson "joint", as with one of his other early films Dead Alive, this is an extremely odd film. I don't really know how to describe it, other than odd. It's based on actual events, which makes this movie even more fucked up.

The basic story behind this movie is, Juliet (Kate Winslet) is a new student at a High School and becomes VERY close with Pauline (Melanie Lynskey). They both seem like very smart people, but they're both just so strange. The things they do aren't what most people would consider normal. This is also set in the 50's, so peoples view are obviously quite different about certain things than they are now.

Like I said already, I don't really know what to write about this. I enjoyed it for what it was, but at times I had to just think "What in the fuck am I watching?". Not that that's such a terrible thing, I tend to enjoy strange movies. I would give this a 3.5 star rating, but since I can't do half stars I had to go for the 3. To me it just wasn't a 4 star movie.

This is on Netflix, so if you haven't seen this, I'd recommend it, though it is a really odd movie. Peter Jackson used to make some really strange shit, huh?

Movie of the Week: Bully

So it's time for another movie of the week, which can only mean one thing....ANOTHER DOCUMENTARY! I'm sticking to my little trend of suggesting a documentary on Netflix, and this week we have a really emotional one. Instead of just recommending this to you, I'm kind of going to go into detail talking about this movie.

First of all, I have been bullied. I'm not the first person to get bullied, and I'm surely not the last person to get bullied. Getting picked on at school was one of the many reasons why I decided to get in trouble and do the best I could to avoid school at all costs. This also lead me to treating other kids like crap, because I thought that would some how make me "cooler". It's really fucking stupid, and I regret how I behaved in Jr. High and High School. No one deserves to be treated like they don't matter, to be name called constantly in a very serious manner, or to be physically attacked by others for absolutely no reason. Being picked on yourself isn't a reason to mess with others who did nothing at all wrong to you.

Now as far as this film goes, it's very sad and at times gets hard to watch. I'll just warn you right off the bat, if you're a really emotional person who doesn't like movies that will make you feel depressed, this is NOT the movie for you. As a person who has both depression and anxiety issues, this movie really bummed me out. There were times when someone would do or say something, so I would pause the movie and just yell at the screen "PEOPLE ARE FUCKING TERRIBLE! I HATE EVERYONE!" This is one of those movies that makes you lose hope in humanity. Both because the parents raising these children did a terrible job, the teachers and other staff at the schools are doing a terrible job, and the children themselves are ass holes.

There is one kid in particular that I really felt bad for. He's literally just trying to make a friend on the school bus, when the other kid tells him that he's going to cut his face off and kill him. Yeah. This actually happened. Just seeing what this kid has to go through every day at school, just because of the way he looks, is really sad. It even leads to his younger sister saying she gets made fun of due to her being related to him. That's just fucked up.

Even in my recent years I've been a huge ass hole to people, most of whom didn't deserve it. I feel like I've made some really good strides and have tried to treat others how I'd like to be treated. I now choose to bull shit and joke around, and not be a ruthless dick head to people for no reason. This movie really showed me how much you can really mess up someone's life just by treating them so poorly. It also showed me that people really should do a better job raising their children. Seriously, it shouldn't be hard to tell them not to be a such a fucking dick to other children.

This movie isn't for everybody, but I think it's really worth a watch. It is on Netflix right now, so check it out!

Tucker & Dale vs Evil Review

I chose not to put in the IMDB info for this movie because if you haven't seen this movie, I don't want to give too much away. With that being said, here are some of my thoughts on this movie. It's kind of sad to think that the best Horror films coming out these days are all Comedies. Including The Cabin in the Woods and of course this movie. There are not really any movies that are both good and have those "Wow, that freaked the shit out of me" moments. With that being said, I do REALLY enjoy a great, funny Horror movie.

This is absolutely one of those types of movies. I didn't really know what this movie was about the first time I saw it, but within the first 5 minutes I knew what it was going to be like, and I was in love. It's just so damn funny, enjoyable, has some heart warming moments, and a really hot chick! I've now seen this movie 3 times, and have enjoyed it every time.

Like I mentioned earlier, it sucks that there really aren't many good, scary, well made horror films. But if movies like this is what we can expect when it comes to the more comedic type of horror film, I'm really looking forward to it. I didn't want to give too much away, because the less you know before seeing this movie, the better. It is on the Netflix Instant Queue, so give it a look.

Movie of the Week: Jiro Dreams Of Sushi

"Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honorably." -Jiro Ono

So it's that time again for a movie of the week. So I obviously went ahead and chose another documentary! YAY!! As you can tell from the title of the film, this movie is about a man and his love for making Sushi. It's quite interesting see all he has gone through, and how seriously he takes his work. He's work very hard at being the best at what he does, which he has apparently succeeded at. (Though he keeps working at his craft, trying to get better and better.)

My MAJOR issue with this film is the subtitles. They're SO hard to read. I feel like it would have been really easy to figure out a font/color that would work better. Seriously, it was damn near impossible at times to see what the hell they were talking about.

Outside of that, this is a great documentary. It's on the Netflix instant queue, so I'd suggest you check it out.

Oddities Review

New York City's Obscura Antiques & Oddities ain't your grandmother's antique shop unless your grandmother is an eccentric. Oddities follows this unique store as it deals in the strange and the bizarre, item-wise and client-wise. - IMDB

Oddities is a show on the Science Channel which is very similar in style to Pawn Stars on the History channel, except with fucking WEIRDOS! I don't mean to sound insensitive or anything, but people buying and selling dead cats, stuffed two headed calves, cycloptic pig fetuses, old ass medical equipment, various skeletons (both animal and human!), etc...sorry, I find them to be a bit on the strange side.  Not to mention I'm reasonably certain that at least a couple of their customers are in fact serial killers and probably have people tied up in their basement right now!  However, all that being said, I have to compare watching this show to my meth addiction: I know it's not good for me, but I just can't seem to stop!  Although strange, the show is pretty entertaining, or at the very least keeps you guessing as to what is gonna come through the door next.
Also, please come rescue me...this basement smells weird and they don't have netflix.

Movie Of The Week: Like Water

"Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend." -Bruce Lee

It's time for another movie of the week. I have once again chosen a documentary, because I felt like it! Instead of another documentary about a Pro Wrestler, I have chosen a documentary about arguably the greatest Mixed Martial Artist of all time, Anderson Silva. I am a bit biased, considering he is my favorite fighter, so I figured I'd love this from the start. This is a great "behind the scenes" look at what a fighter goes through, physically and mentally, before a fight. It's made even better due to the real life drama between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen leading up to this fight.

You get to hear from Dana White, the UFC's president, about how pissed off he was with Anderson Silva's very lack luster performances and antics in his last couple of fights leading up to this. It seemed as though Anderson was not in the right frame of mind in his fights, and was not performing at his best. So it was interesting to see how he would perform against a fighter who would constantly pressure him. This fight was one of the most exciting fights I've ever watched, I was freaking out the entire time. It also has one of the greatest finishes to a fight I have ever seen.

Considering Anderson Silva is from Brazil, there is quite a bit of subtitles because they are speaking in Portuguese. This doesn't bother me at all, but I know that some may not fans of having to read subtitles while watching a movie. But to those people I say, there is a cameo by Steven Seagal! Yay! But seriously, this is a very interesting documentary, though if you're not a big fight fan, you may not be that interested in it. Thankfully, I am. It's on Netflix's instant queue, so I'd suggest checking it out!

Terra Nova Series Review

 

Ah, yes. Yet another Fox show to get cancelled before it's time. That is the fear with watching new shows any more. Do you take the risk and get invested in a new show or do you miss out and join in after it aired for a season or two? Easy choice for me, I enjoy marathons. I find it fun to immerse yourself into a new world and get lost for a while. So yeah, I will miss out on the community experience of talking about a show after it was initially on but I don't care. Still, I find myself in that "getting burned" area. I had put off watching Terra Nova for a while, for reasons I'll get into later, and now it was finally on Netflix. So I add it to my instant queue and proceeded to forget about it. After watching several other shows, I came back to it and decided to give it a shot.

Rubber Review

It's time again for another movie review. The other night I posted on Facebook, saying that there were so many shitty horror movies to choose from on the Netflix Instant Queue. This lead to a couple people suggesting that I watch the film "Rubber". I had heard of it a while back, had it in my Instant Queue for months and months without any real motivation to watch this film, but I'm pretty happy that I did. This isn't your run of the mill horror movie. It's very over the top, it's can be really funny at times, and I can honestly say I did not predict anything that was going to happen until at least half way in. By the title alone you just assume it's a movie about a killer Tire, but there's quite a bit more to it than that, which I will not go into details to keep this spoiler free. There were times where this movie did drag, but not so much that I just hated watching it. It's a really silly and fun movie to watch if you've got nothing better to do and have a Netflix account. Check it out!

Movie of the Week: The Man From Earth

Josh here with the movie of the week! A story by Jerome Bixby, which he started writing in the early 1960's and finally completed on his deathbed in 1998. Bixby wrote for such shows as "The Twilight Zone" and "Star Trek." "The Man From Earth" was a film my brother introduced to me years back and it was unlike anything I had seen before. There aren't any tits, or violence, or even music to fill in the some of quite parts. Now don't let any of that fool you, it's still very good. The movie is about a college professor who reveals to his colleagues that he's actually a centuries-old caveman, it all takes place in a cabin and is told almost entirety through dialogue. It's very intriguing and makes you think, use that imagination you might have forgotten about. I recommend it if you are tired of mindless action flicks or dull horror movies with no originality. This one happens to be on Netflix Instant, so throw it in your queue and give it a go.

A Shitty Trailer, but it'll do.

Movie of the Week: CM Punk: Best in the World

Hey guys and gals, Bobby here. As the title says, this is the "movie" of the week. I know, I know, this isn't a film really...it's a documentary. Not only is it a documentary, it's a documentary about a "wrassler"! Why would you want to watch a documentary about a fake pro wrassler? Well, because this is probably one of the best wrestling documentaries ever released, and it's a great documentary in general. Not only is it about a wrestler and his wrestling career, it's a really interesting story about someone from Chicago who people thought wasn't going to be good enough. The music in this is great, The Bouncing Souls kick it off, and of course Lars from Rancid is interviewed quite a bit for it. So any how, trust me when I say this is a great watch, not just for a wrestling fan, but for anyone interested in a great documentary. This is on Netflix's instant queue, so check it out!

Todd and the Book of Pure Evil

In my constant search to be entertained, it's rare that I am turn on to a new show by an animated gif. This was the animated gif that a saw.

I laughed pretty hard at that. Reading the comments imgur, I come to find out it was from Todd and the Book of Pure Evil. Once I heard the name of the show, I knew I had to check this out. So I did a quick google search and found it was on Netflix. I squealed with joy, as I often don't find what I want easily.

VHS Review Podcast

Our first episode is the supernatural horror movie VHS! It is described by Netflix as the following "When a group of petty crooks goes in search of a rare VHS tape, they come upon a corpse surrounded by stacks of horrific and bizarre videos." Now, I must warn you, on our podcast we spoil the shit out of movies. From start to finish. If we have a lot to say, it'll take up a good chunk of time.This movie happens to be 2 hours long and we spend about an hour talking about it, as well as some other things. The way I would describe our show is like how Daniel Tosh will talk about movies on Tosh.0 but slightly less racist. So,after all that, here is is!

Episode 1 - VHS

House Of Cards Review

On Friday Netflix released its first original series, House of Cards. With it they did something new. They released 13 episodes of season one on the first day. No waiting a week for a new one to come on or those annoying "season breaks" a lot of shows are taking after only 4 or so episodes of being back. Now, Netflix is taking a big risk with this show. They sank $100 million into it, paying for 2 season up front. This is great for the creators of the show, giving them breathing room, allowing time to build and write a story they want. Netflix also managed to grab some great talent on the show. Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, and Kate Mara just to name a few. While this maybe Netflix's first stab at producing a show, not just what they did for Lilyhammer (which was purchase distribution rights to be the first to air it in America), it is still not a true original show. 

 House of Cards is based on of the show of the same name from the BBC. That happens to be a popular trend these days with American entertainment. Rebooting old shows/movies or Americanizing British television. I for one am happy that they just haven't tried Americanizing Doctor Who yet. Whats that internet? America is trying to make a Doctor Who movie? Yeah, that was a rumor, the BBC shut that shit down real quick after the uproar from fans pointing out that it would have been an Awful idea. Whats that internet? What about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure? That was more a comical nod to Doctor Who, not a remake. Get your head out of your ass internet and focus. Back on task. Now, I have not seen the original House of Cards, nor had I heard of it before the American series. Hell, I didn't hear about the American one til about a month or so ago. I may try to find the original and check it out, but it may be too British for me. I might just have to put Danny on that one. What was I doing? Oh right... 

On to the Review!