Movie of the Week: The Count of Monte Cristo

"A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous 'friends,' escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge." IMDb

The Count of Monte Cristo has been one of my favorite movies since I saw it in theater when it first came out.  I have seen it countless times, and I'm sure I will watch it many times in the future.  It's one of those movies where if you tell me that you haven't seen it...we're watching it.  I don't care if I already watched it earlier that day, we're watching it, cause you gotta see this...and I will probably spend most of the movie annoyingly looking at your face to see if you're enjoying it as much as you should be.  Yeah I'm that guy...

So, not only is this movie brilliantly cast, well acted, and paced wonderfully, but this type of story should have a special place in the heart of anyone who's ever felt like they have gotten the shaft before. It's a story about revenge!  Who hasn't ever wanted to serve someone their comeuppance on a nice frosty plate?  A frosty plate of doom!  I suppose for me, specifically, I love this movie because I've always been the fat kid who got picked on and stuff, so I happen to find the idea of somebody who disappears for a long time, reinvents himself, comes back unrecognized by his foes, destroys their entire world, AND THEN EXPLAINS THE ENTIRE PLOT IN A DRAMATIC AND PRECISELY TIMED MONOLOGUE!!!...*deep breathes*...quite appealing.  

So yeah, I don't want to give anything else about this movie away.  Just go watch it.  And if you've seen it already, fuck it, watch it again....Also the guy who plays Superman in the new Man of Steel movie is it is as a kid.  That doesn't really add or detract either way, but I figure I can at least keep this shit current.

Lincoln Review

So let me start this off by saying I am in no way a history buff, or a huge fan of politics. But for some reason I really wanted to see this movie. I just didn't have the heart to sit down and watch 2 and half hours of movie when it came out. Every film these days is over 2 hours, even the sucky ones. That said, I enjoyed the fuck out of Lincoln. 

Now I rented this movie because I was bored and as I said earlier I wanted to see it. I wasn't sure what to expect, aside from the time frame and knowing that you don't see him get shot at the end. The movie begins with two black soldiers talking to the President as he is visiting a camp. Daniel Day Lewis fucking nails the shit out of this role. You are in attention when he is on screen. There are parts when he is telling stories about why he is doing what he's doing and I just fell in love. It was like my grandpa talking to me, I didn't want it to end. So nomination and award earned, two times over.

The political side to the story is interesting. It talks about how Lincoln's cabinet was made up of both Republicans and Democrats and how they had to fight for the votes for the 14th amendment. This plays out sorta like an episode of West Wing. Serious but with the right amount of humor to keep you interested. It is definitely not for everyone, but I was really engaged the whole time. It was also fun watching without knowing everyone who was acting in it. It's like when people popped up I'd be like "Oh, that guy! Awesome. He totally fits that role."

This movie is really powerful and reminds you that not that long ago we just started correcting our country's mistakes. You see the fear for people who support the amendment and can almost understand the anger behind the fight against it, even while you disagree with them. I also came to the realization that I don't know shit about Lincoln. No idea he had two kids. I'm dumb. But I loved seeing his interaction with his wife and his children. Showing the hard times, and fights they had while he was also fighting to save the country. As well as Lincoln signing for the deserters of the war to not be hanged. It really makes you long for a leader with the gall to stand for what he thinks is right, to make the changes he knows are need. Really was the perfect movie for me to watch before our Independence Day. 'Merica, right in the heart.

I gave this movie a 4 out of 5 because I really enjoyed it. But I don't think I'll ever own it. I may watch it again but not any time soon. Is it historically accurate? I don't know, but it is entertaining and a joy to watch. Everyone did a fantastic job in this film, playing their parts well. None better than Lewis. And that 2 and a half hours doesn't hurt in the least to sit through. Go watch it, you might learn something. Might even make you think about what people are fighting for today.

The Last Stand Review Podcast

Arnold Schwarzenegger is The Last Stand... wait. That doesn't make sense. Meh, whatever. It's Arnold triumphant return to cinemas everywhere! Does he still have what it takes? Will you be entertained? Tune in and find out what we thought of this movie.

Episode 23 - The Last Stand
 

Under the Dome Premiere Review

Wow, I've been writing a lot of stuff for us lately. Then again, I've had quite a few things I've wanted to talk about, so it has kind of just worked out perfectly for me. I'll start this off by saying that I'm a HUGE Stephen King fan. I've seen most of the miniseries and movies based on his work, and I've read a shit load of his books. He's probably one of, if not my favorite author of all time. (Very original of me, I know.) So seeing a commercial for this series a couple of weeks ago, I got kind of excited and kind of a "I'll wait and see" kind of feeling. After seeing Bag of Bones, I couldn't get my hopes too high for another miniseries/show based on his work.

With all of that being said, lets get into this shit. I'll just go ahead and say it...I really enjoyed the premiere of Under the Dome. Well, I did give it 4 stars...so if you aren't blind (sorry if you are) you would see that I thought this was pretty damn stellar. I mean, it has Hank from Breaking Bad in it, how could I NOT like it?! The plot is pretty simple, an invisible dome covers a small town in the good old USA. But there's quite a bit more going on in this, but the episodes clearly focuses more on the utter shock of the people realizing what the fuck is happening. We don't know how or why this happened, but shit just got real.

There's also quite a few of those actors that you'll be like "HEY, I KNOW HIM/HER FROM SOMETHING!" Kind of like Hank from Breaking Bad for me. :D There has obviously only been one episode, so I don't have too much to really judge at this point, but I have pretty decent hopes that this will end up being pretty damn great. It seriously can't be worse than Bag of Bones...that was reaaaaaaaaally not so good. What the fuck were they even thinking?!?!?!

Now I'd like to point out a theme that seems to be happening these days. There are now a bunch of horror/thriller/put genre that fits with these two here kinda shows coming out or that are already out these days. Bates Motel, Hannibal, Under the Dome, and soon to be Sleepy Hollow. So far I have not been let down. But I get a feeling even more of these kind of shows will come out...and it may really water down the whole thing. I hope I'm wrong, but I'll live with Hannibal and Bates Motel...and hopefully I can say the same for Under the Dome when things are all said and done. I just don't want to be force fed shit because these shows have been successful.

But to wrap this thing up, I'd say this is really worth a look. It breezed by for me, so I'd imagine you could take the time to check this out. If it's not for you, great. But if you end up liking it, I'd say you're smarter than the person who didn't like it. Just throwing that one out there. It airs on CBS...so basically any person who has a TV can check it out. Do you have a TV? No?! Well how are you reading this if you don't even have the money to buy a TV? Get your priorities in order, jackass.

This Is The End Review

I'm going to start this off by saying, I ended up seeing this movie a couple of weeks ago with two OTHER people. DUN DUN DUN! Dan and Josh haven't seen this yet, and with all the other movies we still need to see this summer, I figured I'd just write a nice little review for this movie. With all of that being said, lets get this shit under way.

After seeing trailers for this movie, I pretty much decided that this was going to be a must see for me. It looked like the most entertaining movie coming out in a long ass time, and boy was I right. This movie is so fucking funny. LIKE REALLY FUCKING FUNNY. It's a movie about a bunch of famous people you know, playing fictional versions of themselves. (One could argue that is basically all Seth Rogen does, but whatever.) Michael Cera is probably the biggest highlight of the first little chunk of the movie. I won't say too much about that, other than it's so much better than the trailer showed.

Another HUUUUUUGE highlight of this movie is Danny McBride. I love him in pretty much everything he does, but he was by far the best part of this movie, at least for me. Especially at a point in the movie when he and James Franco are arguing about a porno magazine. This movie also takes a comedic look at religion and moral values...and shit.So if you're into that kind of stuff, great for you!

I'll just end this quick little review by saying that you should really go see this movie. It deserves any and all praise it has received. It's well worth the trip to a theater, and you won't have to sit through 2 and a half hours of explosions in Man Of Steel! Yaaaaay. This has probably become my second favorite Judd Apatow flick, which is saying quite a lot. So check this shit out!

Man Of Steel Review Podcast

Ok gang, we had issues with recording this one. This is our second attempt, that is why it is late. As well as I had to go out of town for a family reunion so I had no time to edit. But Here It Is Finally! Our thoughts on Man Of Steel, we did have a guest but that audio got chewed up by the gods. Sorry Marc of Unshaven Comics, we'll have you on for the comic movies this year! Promise!

Episode 22 - Man Of Steel

Movie of the Week: A Nightmare on Elm Street

So up until now when I do a movie of the week, I have always suggested a documentary. But I've finally decided to switch things up this week, and suggest one of my all time favorite films. Clearly, I'll be talking about A Nightmare on Elm Street. (By the way, there is a FANTASTIC documentary about the entire series called "Never Sleep Again". If you haven't seen it, check it out.) So I'm going to do my best to explain why I truly love this movie.

First of all, the first time I saw this movie...I was scared absolutely shitless. Even to this day, there are moments that freak me the fuck out. Movies don't really do that to me anymore, but for obvious reasons, this movie does it. This was one of the only movies in this series where Freddy isn't a wise cracking Anti-Hero. He's just a burnt up, scary, child murderer/molester, and a complete mind fuck. He gets his rocks off by building up to the kill.

Now I guess I should explain the "back story". Freddy killed and molested local children. He got caught. For the sake of the movie, he got away with it because some bull shit. The parents were all angry and shit...so they hunted him down and burned him alive. And for reasons not really explained until the 6th fucking movie in the franchise (Don't watch it, it's terrible.), he can now haunt their children's dreams. I guess if you molest and kill children and are then killed by local parents, you end up with special haunt the people who killed you's children's dreams powers...with the ability to kill them in the dream, leading to them dying in real life.

But any how, back to why I love this movie. It's absolutely unique. Freddy isn't just a faceless and silent killer. He's absolutely terrifying. Seriously, look at him. That's fucking scary. Back around the time this movie came out, and pretty much the rest of the 80s for that matter, there was a flood of shitty generic slasher flicks. To me, this is one of the absolute best horror movies...ever. Sure you have some pretty mediocre acting, but you also have Johnny Depp! Yay! I really wish I could have seen his entire death scene. From what I've heard, the idea for the full death was fantastic.

I suppose to wrap this whole thing up, I adore this movie. Great and creative death scenes (especially for the time), a very unique story, and one of, if not THE best horror movie villains of all time. Of course Hollywood had to go ahead and ruin this by making a bunch of really shitty sequels, and a remake....THAT I FUCKING HATE AND WISH IT NEVER HAPPENED...AND FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! But seriously, if you are one of the unfortunate few who has never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It's an absolute treat.