True Grit

I don't get excited for many films & I certainly don't like going to the theatres, so it is quite the occasion when I can't wait to go to a theatre on opening day to watch a movie.
True Grit is it.
You have no idea how excited I am to watch this.
I just finished the 1968 novel True Grit by Charles Portis & I'm gonna go watch the classic John Wayne version.
I think this movie is perfectly casted (Jeff Bridges as "Rooster" Cogburn, Matt Damon as
La Boeuf, Josh Brolin as the Coward Tom Chaney, Barry Pepper as "Lucky" Ned Pepper are perfect choices & this newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross looks incredible).
I love the Coen Brothers.
No Country for Old Men is my favorite movie of all time & I think on Christmas Day 2010, it will become runner up to True Grit.

Watch and & tell me it's not super bad ass! I dare ya!

Top Christmas Movies

It's Christmas season and I have decided to tell y'all my favorite XMAS movies and I expect you to watch them sometime before December 25th.

Is that too much to ask?

I wanted to make a Top 10 but there's too many good ones, so here's a Top 15.

I also invite you to let me know if you think my fav's are crap and/or what you your list is?

15) Trapped In Paradise - I doubt many remember this one but it's a fun little xmas pic. Dana Carvey is great as the klepto.
14) Shrek the Halls - I have 2 little brothers & I'm not gonna lie, I love Shrek & Donkey. Give it a watch.
13) Elf - Worth it for Will Ferrell's monster burp at the dinner table.
12) Jingle All the Way - I feel like Arnold is a very underrated comedic actor. Add in some Sinbad plus a little Phil Hartman & ya got a good christmas classic.
11) How the Grinch Stole Christmas - I haven't watched the new live action version but I doubt it tops the classic cartoon.
10) Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe - I was a huge fan of the book when I was a kid (still am) & I really liked the old BBC version, but this 2005 version with Tilda Swinton as the White Witch is just wonderful. It's almost a perfect film & it's has just enough Christmas in it.
9) Trailer Park Boys : XMAS Special - Because Christmas isn't about goin' to church and gettin' presents, it's about gettin' drunk & high with your friends.
8) Ernest Saves Christmas - You know what? I like Ernest movies & this Christmas one is great. I said it!
7) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia : Very Sunny Christmas - The best show on TV and this xmas special is an instant classic. You see Danny DeVito completely naked, what else do you need?
6) A Christmas Story - It's really not Christmas unless you watch Ralphie shoot his eye out with his BB gun. Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra!
5) Scrooged - An updated Dickens with Bill Murray & Bobcat. It's brilliant.
4) Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Technically, this is a Thanksgiving movie, but c'mon. I actually bought the new edition where they've packaged it in red & green to make it seem more Christmasish. A 'holiday classic' if you will.
3) Home Alone 2 - Almost as good as the first.
2) Home Alone - Oh Kevin McCallister, you crack me up. Look what ya did ya little jerk!
1) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - I will be watching this, literally, about 15-20 times before the 25th of December and then maybe twice on that day. The Griswold family Christmas is really just the best Christmas movie of all time. 'Merry Christmas, shitter was full!'

Best Comedies of the Last Decade

I was telling my friend how much I love 'the Hangover' & I claimed it was one of the best comedies ever. He said that it wasn't even top 10 of the last decade. We got to talking about the best comedies to come out in the 2000-2009 era & I compiled a list of my favorites.

Here it is,

1) Hot Rod - I put this as number 1 not only because it is the most slept on brilliant comedy ever, but it is amazing, and hilarious in every way.
Hot rod features the break out preformances of the Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone), Danny McBride, & Bill Hader.
Not to mention, Ian McShane, Will Arnett, & Chris Parnell are also featured as hilarious side characters.
From the Europe heavy score to Rods punch-dancing in the woods, right down to the Cool Beans, this movie has everything I didn't realize I wanted.
I dare you, I fucking dare you to watch Hot Rod with a group of friends and not have the time of your lives. AND if you and your friends watch Hot Rod and don't find it amazing, then you are most likely a bunch of dickheads.


2) Anchorman - It is probably the most quotable movie of all time. Everyone loves it. It is ridiculous and amazing. 3) Superbad - Great breakout performances by Jonah Hill & the kid who plays McLovin. Michael Cera at his best (just playing himself but doing really good this time around). Bill Hader & Seth Rogen are funny as hell and almost steal the show. Killer soundtrack. Maybe as quotable as Anchorman.
I graduated high school in 2001 and I always felt that 'American Pie' was our 'Animal House' and I feel that Superbad was that for the current group of high school kids. This movie is weird and crazy and fun as hell. 4) Hangover - It's probably the most well written comedy since.... I can't think of another well written comedy but trust me, its very well written & still hilarious. A lot of the best jokes are actually very subtle.
5) Pineapple Express - I love it. Pineapple is THE perfect blend of comedy and action. A movie that potheads and non-potheads alike can enjoy.
6) Walk Hard - John C. Reilly is hilarious as the moronic Dewey Cox in this 'Walk the Line' parody. Upon first viewing I thought it was stupid and ridiculous until about the halfway point, then I realised that it is brilliant. 7) Knocked Up - We got a glimpse of what the Apatow/Rogen team up was gonna look like with 'the 40 Year Old Virgin' but I think Knocked Up did it a little better. 8) Borat/Bruno - These 2 movies are tied simply because they are almost the exact same movie. One is super rascist and kinda gay, the other is just super gay. Both are super funny.
9) Orange County - I know I'm gonna hear some shit about this pick but I absolutely love it & I feel it is very, very underrated.
Tom Hanks' son is pretty great in the lead role but Jack Black's junkie brother character steals the show. I always find Jack Black better when he's not the lead.
Throw in great cameos from Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, Harold Ramis, Lily Tomlin, Chevy Chase, Ben Stiller, and Kevin Kline, that equals great movie.
10) Team America - I'm not sure why this Thunderbirds parody from the creators of Southpark is so great, but I do know it IS great. Team America is ballsy in many different ways and it works. This movie doesn't fuck around.



I wanted to give honorable mentions to the JackAss movies (#1,#2, & #2.5). I didn't give any of them a spot in the top 10 simply because I don't consider them 'movies' but more a series of very funny, very stupid, jaw-dropping skits and scenarios, but I will say that when I watched these 'movies' I laughed so hard, so many times that it actually caused me physical pain in the stomach region. I thought that was worth mentioning.

please comment or email me your top 10 lists. I am curious what everyone else thought of the last decade.

Movie Round Up - February

Watched some more movies over the last couple months. my thoughts,



Cyborg - Maybe my favorite Van Damme movie. I love it! It's ridiculous and awesome. Definitely has cheesy special effects but if you take it for just that and you wanna see
Jean-Claude kick some ass, its great. The bad guy is still a pretty scary dude. Post Apocalyptic movies starring Van Damme and crucifixion are alright by me. GREAT





the Darjeeling Ltd. - I might've already blogged about this movie the first time I watched it in 2007. I had never seen or heard of Wes Anderson until the Digital Kontent boys made me watch this. I absolutely love the style that Wes Anderson brings. This one remains my favorite Anderson film (so far). Iby seems to think it is because it is my first and maybe he's right but I think it might be the way the plot, great dialogue, and acting is perfectly intertwined with wonderful shots the gorgeous country side of India seen mainly from the view of a train. BRILLIANT





Hotel Chevalier - I also got to watch the short film that is a prequel to Darjeeling Ltd. Again, I loved it and thought it was a perfect companion piece to Darjeeling. I also thought it would've worked well on it's own as just a short. It never hurts to see the gorgeous Natalie Portman semi-nude. BRILLIANT



the Goods - I watched about 5 minutes. LAME





Royal Tenenbaums - I've been meaning to watch this for sometime. I absolutely loved it. So far, it seems as if Wes Anderson can do no wrong. He seems to really bring out the best of his actors. I could never understand why Luke & Owen Wilson were such a hot commodity and then I watched Wes Anderson movies. While everyone is great in this, Gene Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum steals the show. BRILLIANT



Adaptation - I didn't love this movie. If you watch 'the Rock' or 'ConAir' it is easy to forget that Nicholas Cage can be a really good actor. Movies like Adaptation remind us. It was different and that I appreciate, but I base how good a movie on the 'rewatching factor'. Will I rewatch this? How long from now? How many times? I don't feel that I need to see this ever again. I could be wrong but c'mon, that's never happened before. PRETTYGOOD




Say Anything - I finally understand why women LOVE John Cusack. I mean I always liked him but I never really understood why women went crazy for him. Sure, he's good looking but not that goodlooking. He's a good actor but he's not a great actor. Women love Cusack because Lloyd Dobbler is the perfect man. It all make so much sense now. I kinda love John Cusack
a little bit too now. Say Anything is one of the few classic 80's films that I didn't watch growing up and I am making myself watch now. Say Anything lives up to the hype. It's nice. It's not cheesy, it's not funny, it's not cliche, it's just nice. GREAT





Avatar - They took the story of Dances With Wolves and made it look like a video game. I will admit that I watched a (pretty decent) bootleg, and I forwarded through a lot of it, and I didn't want to like this. I really don't have time for cookie cutter storylines. I don't care if its colorful, I don't want to spend 2+ hours watching something that I could've wrote and I can certainly guess what's gonna happen. Yeah, I'm hating but I honestly feel that regardless of it's popularity I would not care for Avatar. LAME

Pretty Good Movie Round Up: November

I watched some more movies, here's my thoughts.

CHOKE - I read the Chuck Palahniuk book that this movie was based on a few years ago & I really liked it. My problem with the movie is that it is exactly like the book. The film version adds nothing to story. David Finchers version of Palaniuk's Fight Club had it's own style, while Choke does not. I'd rather just read the book. LAME BRUNO - It's funny, it's basically gay Borat. Probably the gayest movie ever. GREATThe FUGITIVE - I recently rewatched the Fugitive starring Harrison Ford & Tommy Lee Jones, & it is as BRILLIANT as it was in 1993. I love it. One of the best movies ever. DISTRICT 9 - When D9 came out in theaters a few months ago I had a friend tell me the whole story so i wouldn't have to watch it. My friends were watching it so I sat in and I really liked it. I like the documentary style of District 9. GREAT FUNNY PEOPLE - This movie started off really good, it was just too long. Rogen, Hill, Schwartzman, & Bana are all hilarious, & Sandler was better than he'd been in 10 years. I enjoyed the mixture of comedy with serious drama & the cameos by a ton of comedians (oh & Eminem). I know Judd Apatow had full control of this project and it was very personal to him, but that's exactly the problem with it. Funny People would be a lot better if it was cut & edited to make it tighter and less drawn out. PRETTYGOOD RUSHMORE - The first time I watched a Wes Anderson film was The Darjeeling LTD. (with the Digital Kontent boys) & I was very impressed. In fact, I was so impressed that I waited 2 and a half years before I watched another. Rushmore is great. I loved everyones performances in this movie. I love Wes Anderson's style of filmmaking. BRILLIANT. I think I will check out The Royal Tenenbaums, next.

Pretty Good Movie Round-Up

I don't tend to watch a lot of movies. I usually watch whatever people at my house are already watching. I'll hear a cool scene from another room, then I'll stand there for about 3-5mins asking what's happening, & no matter if the movie is good or bad, I'll end up watching the last half/3/4, all the while talking through it & ruining the whole thing for everyone else.

Lately, I have been addicted to buying cheap ($2-$8) movies. I don't watch most of these, they just sit on my shelf & collect dust until someone else borrows them or puts them on at my place. I like to have options.



Here's a rundown of movies I've watched/half-watched over the past month,

Demolition Man

I picked this up from HMV for $4, which is an amazing deal when you realize that movie is BRILLIANT. I forgot how awesome Wesley Snipes was as evil bad guy, Simon Phoenix. This is a great, great action movie. Also, Sandra Bullock was pretty sexy in it. Death Warrant

One of my all-time favorite Van Damme flicks. Jean Claude plays Lois Burke, a special detective brought in from Montreal, to go undercover as a prisoner to find out why prisoners are being killed mysteriously. This movie is ridiculously good. I give it a GREAT.
Up I watched a bootleg version of this, which I am told is a big 'no no'. I thought this looked pretty good. I heard that this was very sad, but I did not find it sad at all. I found this movie to be fun & adventurous. Also, I missed the beginning where his wife dies, which is probably the sad part. Good movie. GREAT Year One

I am a Jack Black fan. I am a Michael Cera fan. I am not a Year One fan. This movie was so goddamn LAME. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

I got the 2 pack that comes with both movies & the animated series. I won't be watching the animated series but Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is on deck. Pet Detective is not nearly as funny as it was when I was 13 but it still holds up. PRETTYGOOD. Tango & Cash

Lt. Raymond Tango (Stallone) & Lt. Gabriel Cash (Russell) are the top cops in the city & after they are framed by Jack Palance they must clear there names. This movie is wonderful. I love every second of it, especially the cheesy one-liners coming from both Tango & Cash. Also, Teri Hatcher (pre Lois & Clark, pre Seinfeld) looks super hot in it as Stallone's sister, Katherine 'Kiki' Tango. BRILLIANT

Hard To Kill

Mason Storm wakes up from a 7 year coma to find his wife & child murdered. One montage later & he's back in top shape & out for revenge. So lame that it is BRILLIANT.

Bio-Dome

This was like a car wreck, 1 minute in & I wanted to turn it off......but I couldn't. I watched it all. Bio-Dome is so ridiculous that it was PRETTYGOOD. I don't recommend anyone else watch it, but I'm kinda glad I did.

Point Break

When I was a kid I thought Keanu Reeves was awesome, I didn't realize that he is a horrible, unbelievable actor. Still, this movie was GREAT.
Signs

I love this movie. It's Shyamalan's best film. All 4 main characters are incredible actors. I love the pacing, & the shots. This movie makes me sad & then scares the hell out of me, every time. That scene where Merrel is watching tv & they show that alien jump out of the bushes at the kids birthday party in Brazil......holy shit. Keep in mind, I'm easily scared by movies. BRILLIANT.

R.I.P. John Hughes (18.02.50 - 06.08.09)

Here's to the man who shaped my childhood. Without John Hughes I would be a very different person.



The man who made me believe that you can create a drop dead gorgeous women just by putting pictures into a floppy disk drive.

Who watches the Watchmen? well, uh, me.

So, I finally watched Watchmen. It's too long.

I was never a huge fan of the comic. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but not as much as most people do.

I watched the movie, & all I really thought was, 'This is much better as a comic', & ' Malin Akerman is super hot' .

I am glad I got to see more Malin Akerman naked. I liked her in 'the Heartbreak Kid' & 'Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle' even though those movies are garbage.

Watchmen is PRETTYGOOD.

also, I did this Dr. Manhattan sketch while I watched.