Week 10 Film Reviews

Another high-quantity week (13) of films watched as it was my spring break, and I had a lot of free time on my hands. Of the unwatched films, there were some very low quality ones watched earlier in the week (Miss March, Zach and Miri, Adventureland, and Crank), but the end of he week picked things up slightly with some good films in Pandorum, There Will Be Blood, and The World is not Enough. Despite the bad average, I always feel like it is better to watch a bad movie to know not to watch it again than be naive to its quality.

Rango

Release Date: 2011

Director: Gore Verbinski

Genre: Animation

Main Cast: Johnny Depp (as Rango) and Isla Fisher (as Beans)

IMDB Rating: 7.8

My Rating: 7.4

Length: 107 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $135 million/$167 million

I was hoping for another great animated comedy after my most recent viewing of the hilarious and well-plotted Despicable Me. Rango turned out to be a solid watch, although there ended up being little-to-no humor throughout the running script. I also thought it had a little too much of a western emphasis, but it did present a good storyline and moral. It surprisingly did have some above average action scenes for a animation. A little to sentimental for an animation aimed at the younger generations, but a solid overall film that is a good watch.

Miss March

Release Date: 2009

Director: Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Zach Cregger (as Eugene Bell) Trevor Moore (as Tucker Cleigh) and Raquel Alessi (as Cindi Whitehall)

IMDB Rating: 4.9

My Rating: 4.3

Length: 94 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: Unknown/$5 million

I am going to attempt to talk less about the terrible films, and more about the ones that are worth reviewing. Thus, this low-budget-attempted crude comedy sucked, was mostly less than funny, and had bad acting (especially from Moore, as he tried way too hard to be funny) throughout a worse plot. Only the ending, gave the film a glitter of decency, but the 90 minutes prior erased any hope of a compilation of that.

Zack and Miri

Release Date: 2008

Director: Kevin Smith

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Seth Rogen (as Zack Brown) and Elizabeth Banks (as Miri Linky)

IMDB Rating: 7.0 

My Rating: 3.2

Length: 101 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $24 million/$42 million

Again, not to waste time, this film was awful and gross as well, without any plot or decent acting beyond Rogen's decent comedic casting. In actuality, it was basically just a cheap porn that was more offensive than attractive. Not one to watch with the grandparents.

Adventureland

Release Date: 2009

Director: Greg Mottola

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Jesse Eisenberg (as James Brennan) Kristen Stewart (as Em Lewin) and Ryan Reynolds (as Mike Connell)

IMDB Rating: 7.1

My Rating: 4.7

Length: 107 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $10 million/$17 million

The third bad comedy of the week, Adventureland was slightly better than the previous two, but still not close to a decent film. Decent acting by B-Listers Eisenberg, Stewart, and crew, but nothing to rave about, similar to the average plot that didn't go much of anywhere. An overall  subpar college romantic comedy that had issues catching the audience and presenting meaning towards any theme.

Crank

Release Date: 2006

Director: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Jason Statham (as Chev Chelios) Amy Smart (as Eve Lydon) and Jose Pablo Cantillo (as Ricky Verona)

IMDB Rating: 7.1 

My Rating: 5.1

Length: 93 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $12 million/$43 million

The acting and incredibly ramped storyline caused this film, like its sequel, to be very unbelievable and bad in general. Not often that I give a sub-6 for a pure action, but Statham does not fit into this storyline at all as it is just too outrageous and too heart-pounding as far as action goes. Those factors prove that an action can be too actiony, for lack of a better word.

Land of the Lost

Release Date: 2009

Director: Brad Silberling

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Will Ferrell (as Dr. Rick Marshall) Anna Friel (as Holly Cantrell) and Danny McBride (as Will Stanton)

Based On: based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft TV series of the same name.

IMDB Rating: 5.3

My Rating: 6.2

Length: 102 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $100 million/$67 million

This film was heavily fantasy-based and suffered from its alien-portrayal of a mythical alternative universe theme. Ferrell was ridiculous as he is in every of his comedies. McBride has also came onto the comedy scene recently and providing a good supporting comedian to this comedy itself. Full of some quick laughs, Land lacked depth and a decent storyline that could have set it apart from its cheap comedy counterparts.

007: The World is Not Enough

Release Date: 1999

Director: Michael Apted

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Pierce Brosnan (as James Bond 007) Denise Richards (as Dr. Christmas Jones) and Sophie Marceau (as Elektra King)

IMDB Rating: 6.3 

My Rating: 7.3

Length: 128 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $135 million/$362 million

My favorite Bond of the four I have seen thus far, The World has the usual Bond plot of him meeting attractive women who end up being being behind potential acts of terrorism that he stops after intense sequences of action, bravery, romancing, etc., etc., etc. Though the plotline is always predictable in a 007 series, I still like the use of technology, the women casted, and the shooting/action scenes that always keep the audience interested. Since 1962, you can never go wrong with Bond, James Bond.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief 

Release Date: 2010

Director: Chris Columbus

Genre: Adventure

Main Cast: Logan Lerman (as Percy Jackson) Alexandra Daddario (as Annabeth Chase) and Brandon T. Jackson (as Grover Underwood)

Based Loosely On:  The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan. 

IMDB Rating: 5.8

My Rating: 7.2

Length: 118 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $125 million/$226 million

Another film in which I liked the concept of it more than anything else, I liked the theme of the Greek mythology coinciding with modern day culture. The storyline and acting, however, was mostly dry and uninventive, beyond slightly above average perfoming by Lerman and the adults casted. I will be interested to see if these negatives improve within the later installments of the series. An above average start to a decently popular book series that is generally aimed at the adolescent and slightly younger crowd.

Inglourious Basterds

Release Date: 2009

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Brad Pitt (as Lt. Aldo Raine) Mélanie Laurent (as Shosanna Dreyfus / Emmanuelle Mimieux) and Christoph Waltz (as Col. Hans Landa)
IMDB Rating: 8.4

My Rating: 7.7

Length: 153 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $70 million/$320 million

Having not last seen this film since I viewed in the theatres in 2009, the rewatch gave me a better impression of the complex interweaving of the various subplots and characters within. The complexity is aided by the presence of many main characters. It also contains some humor within the redneck-type Nazi hunting party led by well-accented Pitt. A very complex, deep, and comical film that takes multiple viewings to fully understand, one of the few points I did not like was how the plot fell apart in the finale of the film. The critical success of the film speaks for its high quality, however, and it is usually safe to trust the critics.

Pandorum

Release Date: 2009

Director: Christian Alvart

Genre: Horror

Main Cast: Dennis Quaid (as Lieutenant Payton) Ben Foster (as Corporal Bower) Cam Gigandet (as Corporal Gallo) and Antje Traue (as Nadia)

Based On: the freeware video game 1213 by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw.

IMDB Rating: 6.8 

My Rating: 8.5

Length: 108 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $33 million/$20 million

Pandorum was a really interesting horror/thriller/sci-fi that both remained mostly biologically factual and had a very intriguing plot twist towards the finale. The acting was subpar beyond Quaid and Gigandet, but the concept of post-apocalyptic renewal of life on another planet is something I really enjoyed, as was the twist of the time-lapse that occurred during the crew's deep sleep. One of my favorite horror/thrillers to date, the sci-fi concepts contained within made the film a great watch for me and those with similar taste.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Release Date: 2008

Director: Nicholas Stoller

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Jason Segel (as Peter Bretter) Kristen Bell (as Sarah Marshall) Mila Kunis (as Rachel Jansen) and Russell Brand (as Aldous Snow)

IMDB Rating: 7.4

My Rating: 6.8

Length: 110 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $30 million/$105 million

A decently well done and funny romantic comedy that had an above average cast and stayed rather true to realism. I am a pretty big Russell Brand fan, and I liked how Forgetting Sarah served as sort of a prelude to Brand's character of Aldous Snow that returns in recent release Get Him to the Greek. The film actually accomplished something after Segel's character got over his unfaithful x and moved on to the attractive Kunis. Better than most trashy love comedies these days, Forgetting Sarah stayed above the line of trash to put on a good overall show.

There Will Be Blood

Release Date: 2007

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis (as Daniel Plainview) Paul Dano (as Paul Sunday/Eli Sunday) and Dillon Freasier (as HW)

Based Loosely On: the Upton Sinclair novel, Oil! (1927).

IMDB Rating: 8.2

My Rating: 7.3

Length: 158 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $25 million/$76 million

A superbly acted and casted film that garnered 2 Oscar wins including Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Leading Actor (Day-Lewis). Day-Lewis pretty much made the film with his magnificent personification of greed and ruthlessness. Supporting members Dano and Freasier also were excellent throughout the film in their young careers. The film proved to be a slow drama, but that was sort of given in an oil production film. This film did a great job of making everything of what it was, while harboring and exploring the themes of money, religion, fatherhood, and most specifically, greed that leads to dire consequences.

A week comprised of both solid films as well as some very poorly produced ones. Hopefully more films of the former category next week, but regardless of the quality, I will keep you informed.

-Jarid Holliday

Jason Mraz Himself

This should make everyone want to run out and pick up a guitar-like instrument.

Hence why adopting an Asian baby only seems like a fun idea for a while.
-Jarid Holliday

Mario Meets Call of Duty

As this blog progress, I look to cover many different topics that I enjoy. Today's addition brings in gaming, something I sometimes enjoy in select titles. The most gaming I do is in the ever popular Call of Duty series, specifically recent release of Black Ops. This post's clip shows an old-school mario theme placed in Call of Duty-type graphics and first-person gameplay:

Maario!
-Jarid Holliday

12 Year-Old Can Pong

I did a similar blog to this one last month about some other insane compilations of basketball, football, and pong shots. The video below is better than any of the pong ones previously posted, and probably better than all of them in general, nonetheless done by a 12 year-old. The following video had to have taken a very long time to compile:

His parents can rest assured he will stay sober in college.
-Jarid Holliday

Musician Hair

Pretty cool graphic of the changing of artists' hair over the years:

I believe my current haircut most closely resembles Carlos Santana. Tragically, my guitar skills do not do the same.

-Jarid Holliday

Week 9 Film Reviews

Building on last week's good list of views, this week's list has similar and better films, albeit 3 less. Within the list, Gran Torino was a film I had been super excited to see, and it proved to be well worth the wait of seeing it as Eastwood played a brilliant part. G.I. also proved to be a solid action/futuristic film, as well as Letters from Iwo Jima and Tigerland being two very good and deep war films. Daybreakers and The Sentinel were towards the bottom of the list, quality-wise, with their content failing to impress me, however, the average rating was higher overall than last week's, with none under the 6.0 cutoff.

Die Hard With a Vengeance

Release Date: 1995

Director: John McTiernan

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Bruce Willis (as Lt. John McClane) Jeremy Irons (as Peter Krieg) and Samuel L. Jackson (as Zeus Carver)

IMDB Rating: 7.5

My Rating: 6.6

Length: 130 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $90 million/$366 million

Typical of the Die Hard series and many other anti-terrorism/robbery actions, this film lacks the depth that would make it a very good action. Like recent action 12 Rounds, I find the complete the tasks to stop the villian's work plot to be rather simplistic and juvenile. Thus Willis and Jackson's acting was hindered by the range of the plot. Some good escape/fighting scenes, but not an overly great action film in general.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Release Date: 2009

Director: Stephen Sommers

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Channing Tatum (as Duke) Dennis Quaid (as General Hawk) Marlon Wayans (as Ripcord)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Cobra Commander) Christopher Eccleston (as Destro) ad Sienna Miller (as The Baroness)

Based On: G.I. Joe by Larry Hama

IMDB Rating: 5.7

My Rating: 8.4

Length: 118 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $175 million/$302 million

I had been wanting to see this film for a while due to my interest in the older animated series I had watched when I was younger. The overall product was slightly rough, with a heavy emphasis on the action and use of war technology, with the plot suffering slightly from that emphasis. I did, however, like parts of that action and technology, with it being within the genre of the film, especially scenes with the Joes and their superhuman suit, a sick concept. The acting was slightly above average, with Quaid playing the only veteran role in the film and the rest of the cast playing solid action roles, with decent character development due to multiple flashbacks. Overall, I liked the film a lot, but more for its origins and similarities to the animated series, as well as the solid futuristic action sequences, than its quality of acting and storyline.

The Sentinel

Release Date: 2006

Director: Clark Johnson

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Michael Douglas (as Pete Garrison) Kiefer Sutherland (as David Breckinridge) and Eva Longoria (as Jill Marin)

Based On: on the novel of the same name by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich

IMDB Rating: 6.1

My Rating: 6.3

Length: 108 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $60 million/$78 million

An action/thriller set up film, myself, like most critics, found this movie to be average at best. A very simple plotline coupled with average acting made this film slightly boring to watch. One of the few Eva Longoria castings helped its value slightly, but even with decent closure the film seemed to have little purpose beyond eliminating an assassination attempt, something that every other sub-par television drama inacts. This "thriller" does not keep away the yawns.

Gran Torino

Release Date: 2008 

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Clint Eastwood (as Walt Kowalski) Bee Vang (as Thao Vang Lor) and Ahney Her (as Sue Lor)

IMDB Rating: 8.4

My Rating: 9.2

Length: 120 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $33 million/$270 million

As previously noted, I have been big into Eastwood and his movies as of late, so I won't touch on this one too much besides saying that it was is masterpiece and in my top 15 favorite films. Eastwood played an absolutely insane character, very similar to Million Dollar Baby, where his tough gritty attitude is supplemented by his sensitivity and care for his Hmong neighbors as the film progresses. There really was nothing wrong with this film in any way, besides it being slightly slow which is typical of its drama genre. The Hmong cast did an excellent job acting as all but one had no previous acting experience. Again, a masterpiece of a film, and look for a more complete review within the upcoming Clint Eastwood special.

Ninja Assassin

Release Date: 2009

Director: James McTeigue

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Raizo (as Rain) Lord Ozuno (Sho Kosugi) and Mika Coretti (as Naomie Harris)

IMDB Rating: 6.3

My Rating: 6.6

Length: 99 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $40 million/$62 million

An incredibly gory and killing-filled action film, Ninja produced little beyond those two categories. Hardly any plotline, character development, or depth of acting supplement this bad film that is only preserved by intense hand-to-hand and sword fighting sequences. The lack of major names of acting also hurts this film. To summarize, Ninja Assassin contains nothing worth watching beyond some good but mostly unrealistic fighting scenes.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Release Date: 2006

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Ken Watanabe (as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi) and Kazunari Ninomiya (as Private First Class Saigo)

Based On: "Gyokusai sōshikikan" no etegami ("Picture letters from the Commander in Chief") by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed on screen by Ken Watanabe) and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War by Kumiko Kakehashi about the Battle of Iwo Jima

IMDB Rating: 8.0

My Rating: 7.9

Length: 142 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $19 million/$69 million

I really liked the general theme and acting presented by this WWII film. Due to its full Japanese audio, it somewhat hard to follow with the subtitles, but Watanabe's excellent portrayal of the Japanese commander on Iwo Jima gives an good relation of the general feeling of the defenders. It is an interesting viewpoint as another of Eastwood's war films, Flags of our Fathers, that came out right before Letters, gave the viewpoint of the Allied side of the fighting on the island. Letters gives a very deep visual of the factors that went into fighting this monumental battle of the Pacific, as well as the personalities represented by the Japanese army that were erased on that battlefront.

2012

Release Date: 2009

Director: Roland Emmerich

Genre: Thriller

Main Cast: John Cusack (as Jackson Curtis) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Dr. Adrian Helmsley)

IMDB Rating: 7.4

My Rating: 5.9

Length: 158 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $200 million/$770 million

King of apocalyptic thrillers The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day, Roland Emmerich, came through with gigantic in-your-face effects that are matched by few in the film industry. 2012 had a solid plot throughout but was mostly made successful by its incredible destruction scenes as the earth fell apart upon the Myans predictions. Decent performances and good concepts of post-apocalyptic survival by use of large boats kept the thriller interesting when the natural disasters subsided. This film would be a potential great watch in a threatre of IMax where the surround sound and large screen would heavily enhance the film.

She’s Out of My League

Release Date: 2010

Director: Jim Field Smith

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Jay Baruchel (as Kirk Kettner) and Alice Eve (as Molly McCleish)

IMDB Rating: 6.6

My Rating: 6.7

Length: 104 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $20 million/$49 million

Another one of my few rewatches this series, Jay Baruchel's character presents a plot in which he stumbles into a relationship with a very attractive girl that most believe is too attractive for him. Throughout the film, Kirk runs into problems and doubting acquaintances, but he reconciles most of these issues to resolve his relationship within the film's final closure. A good mostly clean comedy different from most of its unrated counterparts released today about the success of the underdog in love.

Tigerland

Release Date: 2000

Director: Joel Schumacher

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Colin Farrell (as Private Roland Bozz) and Matthew Davis (as Private Jim Paxton)

Based On: a U.S. Army training camp located at Fort Polk, Louisiana as part of the U.S. Army Advanced Infantry Training Center

IMDB Rating: 7.1

My Rating: 7.8

Length: 100 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: Unknown/$140 million

I really liked this sort of fake war film about the advanced training for Vietnam soldiers, fake because no actual fighting takes place throughout. The acting and concept of the legend of Bozz (Farrell) was the key to the quality of the film, as Farrell was the mother river from the subplot substituents fed off of. Slightly slow and lacking some meaning, however, Tigerland had a good theme overall that overrode most of its negatives.

Daybreakers

Release Date: 2009

Director: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Genre: Horror

Main Cast: Ethan Hawke (as Edward Dalton) Willem Dafoe (as Lionel Cormac) and

Claudia Karvan (as Audrey Bennett)

IMDB Rating: 6.5

My Rating: 6.0

Length: 98 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $20 million/51 million

A typical vampire conquest horror that has little plot twist for the better nor decent acting. It also lacked action that could have saved its simplistic and predictable storyline. The vampire domination of mankind caused by a virus was also a questionable background of the plot and about the only part of the film I liked was its themes of the future and technology, as it did do a good portrayal of each. In general, this film was not scary enough to be a horror and not enough of another genre to be anything else, thus its lack of decisiveness was its demise.

Legends of the Fall

Release Date: 1994

Director: Edward Zwick

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Brad Pitt (as Tristan Ludlow) Anthony Hopkins (as Col. William Ludlow) Aidan Quinn (as Alfred Ludlow) Julia Ormond (as Susannah Fincannon Ludlow) and Henry Thomas (as Samuel Ludlow)

Based On: the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison

IMDB Rating: 7.2 

My Rating: 7.5

Length: 133 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $30 minutes/$67 million

An extremely well acted and well plotted romantic drama that kept me entertained even with it being slightly long and slow. Pitt performed an excellent role in a genre that he doesn't always perform in, and Hopkins played an amazing but subtle character of the Ludlows' war-veterened father. The storyline of three brothers after a single woman kept the plot interesting, but also brought in unneccesary family drama. I did really like how the film resolved, with the family's issues ending with an event that also took place in the opening minutes. This was one of the better dramas I have seen in the past couple weeks, though it is not in the genres I generally enjoy watching.

A great set of film this past week, with Gran Torino leading the way as the superb film of the week. And next week hopes to be as good as well.

-Jarid Holliday

HISOE: The Dark Knight

A comical site that presents animated alternate endings of popular films. Below is a great production of the Dark Knight. My favorite part is the batcycle and Joker part. Enjoy:

For more similar endings visit howitshouldhaveended.com.

"Shouldn't you go back up and arrest Joker?" "Nah, I'm sure it is being handled." "Ok."
-Jarid Holliday

Fantasy Factory

Now normally I am not a network television fan. I watch some major sporting events here and there and follow some of my favorite teams slightly. Besides that I watch a few select shows that I have deamed worth my while to view on a weekly (or DVR/that I own) basis. Those hundreds of shows that I deam not worth watching stem from the fact that most casts are less than stellar and are comprised of actors/actresses that have not made it into the premier film industry, in most cases, but not all. Of those few that I do watch ( Family Guy, Community, Chuck, The Buried Life, Tosh.0, Southpark) easily my favorite two are Rob & Big and Fantasy Factory. And since Big's departure at the end of Rob & Big, I have been a sold out Fantasy Factory fan, having seen every episode but a couple specials. Rob and Drama's antics, ideas, and extreme stunts keep me entertained, as well as their absolute amazing venue of the Fantasy Factory never ceases to awe me. As Season 4 premiers on April 4th, look for more insane stunts and outrageous episodes that will make you laugh and want to be a part of their fun.

Tour of the Factory

Factory Maps

Season 4 Trailer

Black is Back!

-Jarid Holliday

Wild Bill and Aggie Nation

As the big tournament premiered today, I found it appropriate to discuss the finer points that go into a successful team, specifically rowdy crowds. And there is no rowdier crowd in the tournament this year of 2011 than Utah State. Led by Wild Bill in previous years and their loud-as-usual student section this year, Utah State has rolled into the tourney beating some quality conference teams and finishing regular season and WAC conference play 32-3 and receiving a 12th seed in the NCAA tournament. Wild Bill and Co. have gotten a lot of recognition on Around the Horn, SportsNation, and their Not Top 10 in the past year. Below are their crowd leader/free throw distracter Wild Bill and Aggie nation's infamous earthquake-esque bellows:

Wild Bill

Teapot

Aggie Basketball

Barney

I Believe

Winning Team

Though they lost a close one earlier today against 5th seed Kansas State (68-73), I still give the school two claps for style and flare.
-Jarid Holliday

Band Name Origins

One topic regarding music that has always interested me has been the origin of famous band names. Having experimented with some music groups and performances myself, I have tasted the difficulty of coming up with a name for use as promotion. Many of the origins of bands have a variety of different backgrounds, but many of them have just been coincidental, hey-that-sounds-good whims that stayed. Below is a list of artists that interest me and how their names stuck:

AC/DC
A band member saw AC/DC on a sewing machine and figured it had something to do with power. He was right, as it meant "Alternating Current/Direct Current" It also was slang for bi-sexual which the band found out later as it caused some awkward moments in their beginning years.

Atreyu
Name after a character in "The Neverending Story".

Beatles

Despite multiple originating stories behind their band name, John Lennon is generally credited with the name creation as he was thought to have combined Beetles with Beat to come up with the Beatles spelling.

Blink-182
DeLonge came up with Blink over Duct Tape, and the band added -182 to avoid legal issues with an Irish pop band of the same name.

Breaking Benjamin
Named after frontman Ben Burnley knocked over and broke a microphone at an early performance.

Chevelle
Came from the band members passion for fast cars, as well as it being the original brothers' father's favorite.

Chumbawamba
A band member had a dream in which he did not know which public bathroom to use as the signs said "Chumba" and "Wamba". 

Doors
Name originated from the quote by William Blake, "If the doors of perception were to be cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."

Bob Dylan
Being a fan of Dylan Thomas, he changed his original name of Robert Zimmerman as it was too long.

Eagles
Name was heavily inspired by the Byrds, a band that was a heavy influence of on the Eagles themselves.

Fall Out Boy
A fan suggested it as a reference to The Simpsons character Radioactive Man's sidekick.

Foo Fighters
Named after the term used for World War II unidentified flying objects, called foo fighters.

Green Day
A term that classified individuals who smoked pot and did nothing all day.

Led Zeppelin
Keith Moon told the band members that the band project would go over like a lead balloon, hence Led Zeppelin.

Linkin Park
Named as homage to Lincoln Park in Santa Monica.

Queen
Named by Freddie Mercury for the transsexual and glamorous images it presented.



The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Chosen by band members choosing random words written on a wall.

Rolling Stones
Suggested by Brian Jones, the name was inspired by the Muddy Waters song "Rolling Stone".

Styx
Named after the river in Greek mythology that served as the entrance way into hell.

U2
Named after a type of spy plane the US used within air reconnaissance.

The Who
Band members were brainstorming for name ideas and one suggested one and another replied, "the who?"

So when naming you future band, it is sometimes helpful to just go with the stars.
-Jarid Holliday

Shinedown: Diamond Eyes

A song released last summer from one of my favorite rock bands, Shinedown, Diamond Eyes has reached the #1 spot this month on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. It was written by Brent Smith and his crew for the 2010 action release, The Expendables. Director and leading actor of the film Sylvester Stallone himself contacted Smith to write the song for the film. It was later released as a bonus track on The Sound of Madness Deluxe Edition. Below is the music video which has clips of both live performances and of The Expendables film.

"This story is just beginning..."
-Jarid Holliday

Jake Shimabukuro Masters the Ukelele

Jake Shimabukuro is a Hawaiian ukulele performer who has garnered some fame while being apart of the musical group Pure Heart. His complex finger work as a solo artist has also produced some popularity on YouTube and other channels. Below are two of his videos, the second showing a good representation of his finger talent.

Cover of Thriller by Michael Jackson

 

Let's Dance

-Jarid Holliday

Week 8 Film Reviews

This past week of film viewing was one of the better posted on this blog, with some very good movies watched as well as a higher amount of them quantity-wise (14 total). I was really impressed with both Million Dollar Baby and Just Go With It. It has been a trend lately for me to become a fan of movies outside of my stereotypical action and science fiction genres. In fact, the amount of my favorite films within the animation, drama, and romantic comedy categories are very slim and limited to those films that outdo themselves. Thus, there are select times when an excellent film supersedes those films in my categories I normally prefer, in this case the aforementioned films. Also contingent to this week, the percentage of positive to negative films was much better than normal. I generally consider my rating of 6.0 or better to be a film worth viewing. There were only three films below that cutoff, resulting a good amount of above-average/watchable films.

Blazing Saddles

Release Date: 1974

Director: Mel Brooks

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Cleavon Little (as Sheriff Bart) Gene Wilder (as Jim, aka "The Waco Kid") Harvey Korman (as Hedley Lamarr) and Slim Pickens (as Taggart)

IMDB Rating: 7.7

My Rating: 6.7

Length: 93 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $3 million/$126 million

A rather outrageous film that is pretty comparable to the Monty Python series, Blazing Saddles does a good job both generalizing the comedy and making it seem applicable to multiple parties. Rather funny for its time of release, it followed the rise of an African-American sheriff in the middle of the white-dominated west of the 1870's. Due to that theme, racism was rampant throughout the film, insulting all sides, part of what makes the film comical. The soundtrack is almost always  the worst part of most most films prior to the '90's in my opinion, and this film is not an exception  It does get corny at times, as what Monty has major issues with throughout its entirety. But definitely one of the better outrageous comedies of its generation.

Catwoman

Release Date: 2004

Director: Pitoff

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Halle Berry (as Patience Phillips/Catwoman) and Benjamin Bratt (as Detective Tom Lone)

Based On: Catwoman by Bob Kane

IMDB Rating: 3.2

My Rating: 4.1

Length: 104 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $100 million/$82 million

I was really surprised that this awful film made even half he gross it did, what it did make was most likely due to the Catwoman character having a past role in the ever-popular Batman films. This film was just bad all-around, with a horrible mythical-legend-becoming-a-superhero background and poppy '90's music being the biggest downfalls. Little-to-no running plot nor character development also aided in making it bad. The only positive being some ok action sequences, which should be expected given its genre, but not enough to salvage this poor attempt of a movie.

Due Date

Release Date: 2010

Director: Todd Phillips

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Robert Downey, Jr. (as Peter Highman) and Zach Galifianakis (as Ethan Tremblay/Chase)

IMDB Rating: 6.7

My Rating: 6.6

Length: 95 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $65 million/ $210 million

Another typical outrageous anything-that-can-go-wrong-does comedies, Downey gets stuck with Galifianakis on a cross-country road trip to make Downey's character's birth of his child. A good story of acquired friendships by opposite personalities, the plot stays decently on track throughout for a comedy. I have never been impressed by Downey's few comedic roles, I prefer him to stick to action/drama where he excels. I did think that Galifianakis put forth a solid comedic performance, on the contrary. The film's best asset was its ending/closure in which they did a good job of clarifying and closing the situations, while continuing the comedy through the last seconds.

Unstoppable

Release Date: 2010

Director: Tony Scott

Genre: Thriller

Main Cast: Denzel Washington (as Frank Barnes) Chris Pine (as Will Colson) Rosario Dawson (as Connie Hooper)

IMDB Rating: 6.9 

My Rating: 5.7

Length: 98 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $90 million/$166 million

My prediction before watching the movie or reading its plot: they will stop the train. Pretty predictable plot and ending when the entire film is based on a train that cannot leave its immovable tracks. The extremely simple plot was saved in part by good performances of the veteran Washington and Chris Pine of Star Trek fame. Dawson was flawless as well, although she seemed slightly out of place in a train yard. The thriller-aspect was decent, but again, it was hard for me to get into a film about a train being the antagonist. The resolution to me was simple enough: Keep people out of the way, stop the train, and pay for the damages. End of story.

Rendition

Release Date: 2007

Director: Gavin Hood

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Omar Metwally (as Anwar El-Ibrahimi) Reese Witherspoon (as Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi) and Jake Gyllenhaal (as Douglas Freeman)

Based On: the true story of Khalid El-Masri who was mistaken for Khalid al-Masri

IMDB Rating: 6.9

My Rating: 7.0

Length: 122 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: Unknown/$27 million

Based during the recent times of terrorism and power struggle in the Middle East, Rendition gives a good representation of the problems that take place with stereotypes and terrorism in foreign relations. Think kind of a The Kingdom and a movie soon to be mentioned combination, Traitor. Decent acting by most throughout, despite relatively unknown cast beyond the big names of Witherspoon and Gyllenhaal. The subplots of the film were what made it more than just an average one, with an interesting Romeo and Juliet theme from the daughter of the police sargent and a rebel muslim terrorist, which ends up happening before the current time of the film, an excellent twist explained at the end of the film. One of those films that was saved by a little segment, but even that can make a movie great in some cases, just not totally here.

Million Dollar Baby

Release Date: 2004

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Clint Eastwood (as Frankie Dunn) Hilary Swank (as Maggie Fitzgerald) and Morgan Freeman (as Eddie Dupris)

IMDB Rating: 8.2 

My Rating: 8.9

Length: 132 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $30 million/$217 million

This film and one of next's weeks superb films, Gran Torino, are the main reasons why I have recently become a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, not just the great films he directs (Invictus, Changeling, Letters from Iwo Jima) but especially the ones he also acts in. Million Dollar Baby's excellence was also greatly aided by two extremely good supporting performances in Freeman and Swank, both of which won Oscars, Best Supporting Actor and Best Leading Actress respectively. The sincerity of Eastwood is so amazing towards the end of the film as Swank's character attempts to survive through her paralyzing injury. Eastwood truly has a gift of combining his ever-hardass mentality with that spotty sincerity that forces the audience to sympathize with his character. I don't want to go anymore in depth, as I plan on doing a big special on Eastwood and his major releases. But this film is a for sure must-see, regardless of your premonitions, as with any film Mr. Eastwood has a hand in.

Liar Liar

Release Date: 1997

Director: Tom Shadyac

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Jim Carrey (as Fletcher Reede) Maura Tierney (as Audrey Reede) and Justin Cooper (as Max Reede)

IMDB Rating: 6.7

My Rating: 7.4

Length: 86 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $45 million/$302 million

A Jim Carrey-typical comedy that exercises good closure along with a good theme and moral throughout. The films stays funny without trying too hard as it relates lying-savvy Carrey's life that starts to fall apart. As his wife and child plan on moving away, his skills of representing people in court likewise diminish. Only by telling the truth does he regain his former life. A good-feeling story that lacks some amount of depth overall but gets laughs from Carrey's uproarious behaviors. 

Traitor

Release Date: 2008

Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Genre: Thriller

Main Cast: Don Cheadle (as Samir Horn) Guy Pearce (as Agent Roy Clayton) and Saïd Taghmaoui (as Omar)

IMDB Rating: 7.1 

My Rating: 7.1

Length: 114 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $22 million/$28 million

As previously mentioned, as the plot of this movie progressed I found it eerily similar to that of a previously watched film ealier ths week, Rendition, which was coincidental as I had no intention of watching these together nor did they have similar production members. Both had heavy influences of terrorism, stereotypes, spies, and counter-terrorism by government agencies, though Cheadle's role in the film is actually the opposite of that of Omar Metwally in Rendition. Cheadle does a great job of showing conviction throughout the film as the film's protagonist who attempts to bring down terrorist organizations by posing as one of their own. The film also does a good job of twisting the plot at the end to fix Cheadle's situation, but I had a hard time relating to Cheadle's character's extreme remorse for the accidental deaths he caused that concluded the film.

Just Go With It

Release Date: 2011

Director: Dennis Dugan

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Adam Sandler (as Dr. Daniel Maccabee) Jennifer Aniston (as Katherine Murphy) Brooklyn Decker (as Palmer Dodge)

Based On:  the 1969 film, Cactus Flower, which was adapted from an earlier Broadway stage play, written by Abe Burrows, which in turn was based upon the French play Fleur de cactus.

IMDB Rating: 6.1

My Rating: 8.7

Length: 117 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $80 million/$123 million

As some may have been noticed, I have kind of been in a Clint Eastwood and Adam Sandler fix within Weeks 7-9. I have been very impressed with nearly all the films that those two big names have been in,  especially this one. Just Go With It was easily one of the most funny films of any genre I have seen, the theatre I was in rarely had a pause between outbursts of laughter more than 5 minutes apart. Decker played a great part in her film debut, as well as kept the plot meaningful and youthfully innocent. Sandler also played an excellent father figure to Anniston's character's children which game the film a good family theme. I really loved this film, evident by its appearance as one of my favorite comedies to date.

Unknown

Release Date: 2011

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Liam Neeson (as Dr. Martin Harris) Diane Kruger (as Gina) and January Jones (as Elizabeth Harris)

Based On: Out of My Head by Didier van Cauwelaert

IMDB Rating: 7.3

My Rating: 6.6

Length: 113 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $40 million/$78 million

An actionless disappointment and a plot that, once revealed, was too simplistic and contradictory to a hitman action film. For those hoping for a Taken-similar shoot-'em-up like me, this was the main cause of disappointment, as Neeson does little more throughout the film than attempt to discover his true identity and ruin that former identity's assignments once he realizes that truth. Essentially, the hypocrisy that Neeson presents stems solely from a car accident and makes the plot average at best. The performances of action-savy Neeson and Kruger saved the film from being a disaster, although Jones did not help the film or her reputation as a sub-par actress by acting a rigid performance that gave her the reputation. Again, a serious disappointment after the hype I put up for it in my Upcoming Films Premiers review.

The Fighter

Release Date: 2010

Director: David O. Russell

Genre: Drama

Main Cast: Mark Wahlberg (as Micky Ward) Christian Bale (as Dicky Eklund) and Amy Adams (as Charlene Fleming)

Based On: the life of professional boxer Micky Ward and his older half-brother Dicky Eklund

IMDB Rating: 8.1

My Rating: 7.5

Length: 115 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $25 million/$117 million

I was uncertain as to to what I was going to get from this film, although most every boxing/fighting film I have seen to date has been above average or higher (Cinderella Man, Never Back Down, Rocky series), so the chances were good for this film that had done well already critically. I really enjoyed the connection and brotherhood between Wahlberg and Bale, as well as how it correlated between Bale's past fighting and Wahlberg's current. Bale's reoccuring cocaine problem as well as the brother's over-involved rather white-trash family are both annoying and frequently causing problems in Wahlberg's career and personal life until both are resolved in good fashion towards the end of the film. Both Bale's return to and rejection of his cocaine-smoking friends and Wahlberg's winning title bout where he knock's the defender out in one late round were equally powerful scenes that made the film the Oscar-nominee Best Picture it was. A well done film that does a good job of employing powerful scenes to cover up the dryness within the middle of its storyline.

The Silence of the Lambs

Release Date: 1991

Director:Jonathan Demme

Genre: Thriller

Main Cast: Jodie Foster (as Clarice Starling) Anthony Hopkins (as Dr. Hannibal Lecter) and Scott Glenn (as Jack Crawford)

Based On: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

IMDB Rating: 8.7

My Rating: 7.1

Length: 118 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $19 million/$273 million

One of only 3 films in history to win all five major Oscar awards (Best Leading Actor, Best Leading Actress, Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing from Another Medium), Silence is the second part to the popular 4 book series that has been since turned into a production on the screen. The accolades of this film are well-founded for the most part, as the overall composition of the film's acting and plotline was excellent. Hopkins' role as Hannibal Lector really freaked me out, his psychologist occupation really fits well with his intricate personality and psychotic murderous intentions. I did like this move for the most part, but didn't love it due to its slight lack of purpose and/or meaning, mainly due to it being a part of series and in the thriller/horror genre.

The Incredible Hulk

Release Date: 2008

Director: Louis Leterrier

Genre: Action

Main Cast: Edward Norton (as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk) Liv Tyler (as Dr. Elizabeth Ross) Tim Roth (as Emil Blonsky / Abomination) and William Hurt (as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross)

Based On: The Incredible Hulk by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
IMDB Rating: 7.1

My Rating: 6.9

Length: 112 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $150 million/$263 million

Really one of the most disappointing superhero/comic book films I have seen to date, even worse than the averageness of Kick-Ass. Hulk had a decent theme, plotline, and acting, but the background of the characters flew by in a quick slide-show at the beginning as well as  the film also did a terrible job of hooking the audience in and truly relating with the main characters within the plotline. The film could have done so much more with building the characters, where they came from and why they were apart of what they were instead of plotting solely upon Norton evading Abomination and attempting to get rid of his powers. I did like how the film did connect with the Avengers storyline that is upcoming, similar to the previous Iron Man parts and the upcoming Thor and Captain America productions. I did give this film some overall credit due to it being in my preferred genre of action and superhero, but not the credit most others in that genre would receive.

Funny People 5.4

Release Date: 2009

Director: Judd Apatow

Genre: Comedy

Main Cast: Adam Sandler (as George Simmons) Seth Rogen (as Ira Wright) and Leslie Mann (as Laura)

IMDB Rating: 6.8 

My Rating: 5.4

Length: 146 minutes

Budget/Gross Revenue: $75 million/$72 million

Having potential throughout the first half the of this comedy to be a solid film overall, this took a turn for the worse as the film lost its comedic and sensitive effect when Sandler's character both is cured of his form of leukemia as well as intrudes in his x-wife's family. I have been a big fan of Sandler's films and acting lately, however, this film ruined that streak of quality started by 50 First Dates and Just Go With It. Better writing and directing could have solved this film's problems with seriously altering the storyline mid-way through and ending with little-to-no closure.

A very long list of reviews this past week, but some excellent films watched among those reviewed. I hope that by scratching the surface of some films worth watching, what is revealed underneath can only aid in helping you realize the beauty in what your eyes present to your mind.

-Jarid Holliday