I saw Juno when it first came out, but just never got around to writing up anything about it.  Now I regret not taking the time to at least throw something down.  I really liked this movie.  The story touches on some pretty strong subject matter and handles it with wit and a sort of naive adolescent charm that works.

I think the main thing I like about this movie is the writing.  The past several movies I have seen have just left me wanting.  Cloverfield was absolute garbage, Vantage Point was gimmicky with a shred of a story thrown in for flavor.

This is Diablo Cody’s first stint at screenwriting and she is following it up quickly with a series for Showtime based on a Speilberg idea(and it sounds pretty interesting).  She also wrote Girley Style and Jennifer’s Body which she sold to Universal and Atomic respectively. 

The DVD for Juno just recently hit the streets and I picked up the 2 Disc set (I mean really, why else buy a DVD but for all the little extras.) 

I need to add more to this but it’s 3 in the morning in my world and I need to get some damn sleep.

That’s right kiddies.  IRONMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Movie is just a little over a week away now and I must say I am finally anticipating going to the theater

again.  Yeah I want to see Harold and Kumar2. Yeah I want to see Ben Stein: Expelled.  Hell, I even want to see Ellen Page’s new flick (but that’s different story).  The past several movies I have seen have been flat and devoid of any real content (except Juno and again that’s a different story).  But I digress. 

The main reason I want to see this movie is because Robert Downey Jr. is in it and he is one of my favorite thespians.  I think he’s one of the most under-rated actors around and he is always catching flak for being an addict.  The last movies I saw him in were A Scanner Darkly(which I recommend, but be forewarned it’s rotoscoped) and Zodiac.  I wanted to see Charlie Bartlett but just never got motivated enough to go see it.

So it looks to be promising, I just hope they haven’t killed it with all the hype….but we shall see.  May 2nd, 2008

….but we all wish they would.  Like a bad case of acid reflux Sly just keeps coming back, and like reflux it’s aggravating and leaves a bad taste in your mouth.  WHY?!??!?!?!?! Why dig up these fossils?  Has Hollywood completely run out of ideas?

Did Sly think that Rambo could withstand the same resurrection Rocky did?  First of all Rocky won an Oscar and was a hell of a lot more developed as a character than the monosyllabic John J.  Don’t misunderstand me here, I loved First Blood.  Hell, I still watch it occasionally.  But what makes First Blood work is that the writer’s understood one vital thing and kept Sly’s dialogue to less than 100 words in a two hour time span.  It worked; it was beautiful.  Right up until the end when he starts blubbering about fast cars and shoe shines, but before he can get to far into it Colonel Troutman comes in and saves him again.  Where was Colonel Troutman in Rambo 4?  At home thanking God in heaven above that he wasn’t being laughed at.

The whole premise of the movie is just flawed.  A group of missionaries come to Burma and try to hire Rambo to take them to a camp up river.  Rambo says no.  That should have been the end of the movie. Thank you can I have my $7.50, oh to hell with it keep the money I just want my time back.  BUT NO…….The girl who is with these missionaries throws out some trite speech about duty and Rambo says "NO, go home" (I should have listened).  Then we cut to Rambo asleep which was the best part of the movie IMHO….no no not because here was finally some believable acting, but because of the flash back to better movies, I mean earlier times in Rambo’s life.  Then he wakes up and goes outside and the female missionary is waiting in the rain.  She spits out a cliche, then Rambo in an attempt to one up her spits out another cheesy cliche and the battle of shitty acting ensues and finally Sly agrees to escort the group.  It’s all completely ridiculous.  The first mortar to hit the camp is probably one of the better parts of the movie after that it just goes downhill.

If you must see this film then you will want to get used to this picture, it’s seriously like 20 to 30 minutes of the movie.   If you want to feel like you are actually in the movie with Rambo invite a friend over to sing some stupid songs while you ask the picture of Stallone "What the fuck are you looking at, boatman?" in an english accent.  

All that being said the movie is entertaining for the simple fact that it is mindless violence, but do your self a favor.  Download it off the interWebs….I mean wait for it to hit DvD which shouldn’t be too long of a wait.             

I have no idea why but the first 10 to 20 minutes of I Am Legend came across as I Am Advertising.  From the bright red Mustang, the McDonalds sign, Wicked, and the promise of a Superman and Batman movie the advertising eventually fades.  I really did like this movie, that was just something I noticed.  Oh, and add that to the fact that Barilla pasta sauce apparently has a shelf life of over 5 years, but Will Smith only fed it to his dog so maybe it didn’t retain it’s earthy tomatoey goodness.  Now back to the choice of car…..Let’s break this down shall we?  You are the only person alive, in New York and you chose a Mustang?????  The guy has his pick of any car he wants and that is what wins?  A 2008 Shelby GT500?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like Mustangs (I used to have one) but you’re trying to tell me that you wouldn’t pick a Ferrari, Lotus, Lamborghini, Aston Martin (Vanquish), Pagani Zonda or some other top of the line ride??  Screw your arguments about practicality too.                                 

VS. 

So, I am finally getting passed all of the advertising and really enjoying the movie when BAM I am being sold a Bob Marley: Legend CD. 

Over all though I would highly recommend this movie because it is entertaining as all hell and watching Will Smith lose his mind is just hilarious.  "Will, why you gotta shoot Fred man?  He just wanted to go to the Library man."

There are several reasons to NOT watch Beowulf and only 2 reasons to actually go see this movie.  One is that it is the first 3D movie I can recall in recent history where you won’t be surrounded by little kids,  and second is….well ok so there really is only one reason.  Beowulf wasn’t that bad but let me stress that for it to not completely suck ass you MUST watch it in 3D otherwise it turns into a 2 hour advertisement for a video game that plays better on your TV.  As it is even in 3D it borders on looking like a lengthy commercial for every quest time RPG you ever played.  The story is borrowed loosely from the Epic Poem, and takes a few liberties.  If you want a history lesson this is not really your film.  Just remember Grendel dies, and so does his mother.   Beowulf never gets seduced and has some crazy shape shifting offspring, but I guess they needed to make the movie longer and more interesting.  And yea I know Angelina Jolie is hot and all

, but honestly……if you want to see her naked go watch Gia. 

So my advice is if you just have to see Beowulf then see the movie in 3D, but you would be better off saving your money.

I saw this movie over the weekend and let me tell you……The Coen Brothers have done it again.  Not to many people will like this movie, and I have something to say to those people.  Stick to your brainless, cookie cutter, Hollywood drivel and leave the real movies to people like Joel and Ethan.  With such classics as Raising Arizona, Fargo, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? to lesser known works as Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski(yes I actually met some people who have never heard of these great movies).

No Country is based on the novel of the same name that was written by Cormac McCarthy and published a mere 2 years ago.  You may want to do yourself a favor and read the book as well.  This movie is not for people who want to go to a show to be "entertained".  This movie is raw and dirty.  You may love it you may hate it, but I dare anyone to see this movie and not be affected.  No Country tells the story of a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad, REAL BAD!!  The hunter,  Llewellyn Moss (James Brolin) then finds a satchel full of money and the decision to take it seems pretty arbitrary (I mean seriously who wouldn’t take the money.)  What I wouldn’t have done is go back to the scene of the crime several hours later to bring a gallon of water to some guy, but that’s beside the point.

Some people (shoot most of the people in the theatre I saw this at) will not get this movie at all.  They will leave with a sense of "What the hell just happened?" or (and this is what I heard upon the credits rolling) "We sat through all of that for NOTHING!?!?"  Well this movie is not about closure, it’s more about how people work and the intricacies of human psyche and that is why I really like No Country. 

Nietzsche once said "To find everything profound - that is an inconvenient trait. It makes one strain one’s eyes all the time, and in the end one finds more than one might have wished."  This movie was profound and I think what we find is that there is a little bit of all of these characters in all of us and ultimately that is what makes No Country a great piece of cinema.

But I think we can sell it on E-bay.  this flick was so flat and uninspired.  I kept asking myself, “Where have I seen this movie before?” and then it dawns on me.  It’s just like every other cop movie.  You may remember Director James Gray made amovie a few years ago named The Yards.  Who starred in that?  If you guessed Phoenix and Wahlberg you would be correct.  The part of Eva Mendes is played by Charliez Theron and Robert Duvall is played by James Caan.  Okay maybe not that exact, but it seems like the same formula of several phenomenal actors but this time the story was just not right.    It starts off with a nice little scene featuring Eva Mendes and from there just goes down hill.

The movie really pissed me off when she and Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix) get into an argument.  First of all it’s a stupid argument and the fact that it finishes with Mendes screaming, “I Hate You!!!!!” It was very grade-school.  Anyway I have already wasted about 2 hours of my life on this movie.  I refuse to waste anymore.

I saw this on Tuesday and was kind of disappointed.  It was an alright movie with beautiful sets and costumes, but once you get past the shiny veneer you are left wanting for any substance.  The actors do an amazing job with what I thought was a terrible script.  We all know the basic story of Elizabeth I and Philip and the England-Spanish conflict (or maybe I assume to much).  However, the movie sweeps through all the intrigue that could have made this a much better movie.

The second part of my issue with this movie was the score, or better the timing of the score.  There is one scene that is supposed to build and create emotion but the music slowly starts, cuts out completely, then starts up again.  It was clumsy and detracted from what was supposed to be an emotional scene that pulled the audience in. We are never much given any reason to invest in these characters emotionally. 

Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a 27% and most of the reviews site bloody violence, and a sappy history lesson.  I would suggest seeing it if you like big epic movies.  But beware the empty pageantry.

So tomorrow Transformers drops.  This was a better year for movies, and the summer did not disappoint.  Out of all the movies I saw; Transformers not only impressed me, but the CGI was some of the best I have seen.   The casting was well done and Shai LeBeouf is one of the luckiest bastards on the planet.  I mean here are two of the greatest reasons to

become an actor I can think of.  

I would suggest dropping the little bit of extra cash on the 2-Disk release so you get all the extra’s, but that’s just me.

  ¼/p>

So I just heard this awhile back and thought that I would let everyone know. There is a new Collector’s Edition of Blade Runner that is supposed to hit the streets at the end of this year. Well Amazon anyway.

I have the first box set they realeased several years ago and it was very well done IMHO, but then again this is one of my favourite movies so anything above and beyond a typical release is going to get me to shell out money. This looks to be like a final reconcilliation between Bud Yorkin and Sir Ridley Scott, since rumor has it (and it’s pretty much public knowledge too) the two never could see eye to eye when it finally came to the release of this picture.