Monday, June 29, 2009

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

2.5/5

Transtesicles 2: Revenge of the Lame Jokes

That is pretty much what it was, I was really pumped to see this. I didn't have much interest in seeing the first but I came around and gave it a shot. And I liked it alot, it was such a fun movie. Then the bad reviews for this came in, and the more I heard about how bad it was the more I wanted to see it.

Now for me the film didn't get off to a good start seeing as I tripped up the stairs getting to my seat and hurt my knee pretty badly. So I spent the film in physical pain, and getting extremely annoyed by this little kid who kept getting up and stepping on my feet and knocking my hurt knee. But on to the actual film, this is the kind of film to see on IMAX, its big, its loud, it had its fun moments. The scenes done for IMAX were really good to look at, and it was quite amazing. Towards the end when it kept changing that was distracting. Michael Bay certainly knows how to do special effects, but I think that is also where the problem lies. He was worrying too much about that and forgot about the rest.

The script was terrible, it didn't make much sense, consistancy? Forget about it! Lame jokes? Check! Testicle jokes? Check! Stereotypes? Check! John Turturro's ass? Check! Seriously did anyone read the script? Did they bother to watch the first film again? The script was rushed, yes, but seriously a donkey could do better. Sure they want this to appeal to everyone, but did we need the lame and stupid toilet humor? No we did not. We didn't need to see dogs humping, we didn't need to see a bot humping Megans leg, what did that add to the story? Nothing! It got a pathetic this is lame laugh out of me. Skids and Mudflaps, why were they there? That was truly terrible! Why did Devestator have giant balls? Oh yeah, because they needed another lame testicle joke! This film was 2 and a half hours, it could have been edited to a 90min film and one that could easily get 4 stars. It dragged and felt so long by the second half, I wanted it to end.

I am giving this 2.5/5, and most of that is due to some awesome action scenes and how hot Megan Fox was.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Frustration and whole lot of code

So I am working on getting a website together for a person very special to me. I am really excited about it, I really enjoy doing website stuff ect ect...

Now I had an idea in mind, a layout, design, and I was determined to make a sample of it to show. All was going well and then I came across a problem, and it was very frustrating, and it seemed like no matter what I was doing, I couldn't fix the problem. I looked up the subject, and found some forums where people were posting for help on the same problem. I tried the solutions people had suggested and none of them worked. I was sitting and typing up the code and re typing code, trying all sorts of things. It got to the point where all I could see was code. I felt like I was in The Matrix. I know when you have to use code daily you probably get used to it, and like they say in The Matrix you don't see the code, you see what it represents. I was really feeling that, and I finally solved the problem I was having, and its all good.

After all that, I did get some good feedback that what I was working on was in the right direction of what was wanted with the site. So there is a LONG way to go, but I have a good feeling about this, and I am sure it will turn out great!

In other news, I have been battling a cold all damn week. This has kept me from doing other things I wanted to get done this week. This better clear up soon, going to be having a small meet up with some other people from the Empire Aus Forum tomorrow. Going to see TF2 at the IMAX, which should prove an interesting experience. With all the bad press I am actually even more eager to see it! I need to know just how bad it really is, and well just how hot Megan Fox looks on IMAX.

I also got a call on Wednesday about a job interview, after weeks of all the applying ect ect, I finally got a call. I had the interview yesterday morning in the city, and I have to say it did go rather well. I had to do a bunch of tests and my results were very good. Above average, which is very good, and my newly revised resume seemed to impress. I possibly will have another interview early next week, it will be an entry level position. Fingers crossed, this would be really good.

So yeah, quite a week, I got this website work and also the interview. I also watched a bit more of S7 of 24, and I am hooked. I am around half way through, I've managed to avoid spoilers thus far too. Next on the list to watch is to finish S2 of SeaQuest and The Wire, start True Blood as well. I have a lot of films to watch as well, I need to finish Outlander, I started it and I was liking it, but then I didn't finish it. I also want to check out the F13 remake. I did rewatch May and New Nightmare this week, both fantastic films.


In the world of my other interest, wrestling, WWE did the whole Donald Trump stunt and by the sounds of things, it didn't work out very well. Did they really get the ratings they reported? Raw pretty much is a mess of a show, the highlights are when they feature Smackdown storylines. ECW is pretty good too, but Smackdown is where it is at in the WWE. CM Punk is the Champ, feuding with Jeff Hardy. I am waiting for that full blown heel turn. TNA had their Slammiversary PPV and it was one of the best PPVs I've seen in awhile. Most of the matches were excellent, but some out comes were disappointing. Seriously, one of the Motorcity Machine Guns needed to win the X Div title! Bad mistake there! I knew either Angle or AJ would win the Worlds Title, and Angle won after Joe turned heel and joined the MEM. The Monters Ball match was awesome, Taylor and Daffney did such a fantastic job, and I can't believe Daffney and Raven both got the thumb tacks! I read Impact results, that should be interesting to watch too.

Well I have a book to finish reading, and I have the writers bug too. I have some great ideas swarming and I am going to get those down.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Review Rewind: Inland Empire

I thought I would revisit a past review, I purchased this film on DVD off Amazon, I had not seen it. The trailer had blown me away, and well it was the latest David Lynch film. David Lynch is my favourite director, I love his films. If you haven't seen a David Lynch film, Inland Empire is not the one to start with. Blue Velvet or Mulholland Dr. would be good starts to the world of Lynch. Check out the trailer, and then on to the review.




(Written on 4th of Nov 2007)















Lynch has done it again! Another warped film, that is utterly amazing. This is really difficult to actually review. There is just so much here, and the way it is done, just done so well. Much like Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr. this has the same kind of thing, characters, becoming different people. You know the drill. David Lynch has done this in such a way that you can decide for yourself what is going on, the clues are there. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.

I was amazed, this is a three hour film, not once did it drag, it actually felt like a 90min film and I wanted so much more. Laura Dern is this movie, she simply puts on a career best performance. I know this film will be hated, it is not for those who want things handed to them gift wrapped. This is a film that makes you think, like trying to solve a mystery. That is the beauty of Lynch's work, he makes you think, he forces you to use your head, to think, to find answers. Quite simply, I love you David Lynch!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Milk
























5/5

I have actually had quite a hard time writing this review, not because I didn't like it. I loved this film, very much. But I have found it quite difficult to get my feelings out, and I thought I would wait for a second viewing to do so. Last night I watched Milk for the second time, and I finally feel like I can get this all out.

I am sure you all know what this film is about, it won two Oscars. It is about a man named Harvey Milk who was the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. The film tells the story of his life after he moves to San Francisco and leads up to his death. I find it rather surprising a film hasn't already been made about Harvey Milk (Documentary, yes), the story is interesting and it contains some very important themes. But this film has been made at the right time, so I guess it is almost a good thing.

Watching this film, I had to wonder, how far have we really come since the 70's in relation to the subject matter? In some ways it feels like a lot and in others not so much. And why? Is it fear? Probably, fear of change, fear of moving forward, fear of the unknown. Harvey seemed like a very passionate man, he wanted to bring about change. Change for the better, and he fought for it until the very end. You see a person like that, and he really had the guts to go and do what he was passionate about. He was very aware of the risks, and he still went out and did something, to make a difference. That is something I really admire. This film really does show what he went through, the tough times he faced, the backlash of what he was trying to do. It is a very passionate script, and the film works and survives because of that. This script won an Oscar and I can really see why.

The direction by Gus Van Sant is quite fantastic, he got top performances from his actors. The visuals are stunning, there are some scenes which really work well, spliced with actual footage. Gus is an interesting film maker, and he has made very different types of films through out his career touching on all sorts of subjects. He tackled this project, and the end results is truly excellent. It is an important film, even more important today, around thirty years after Harveys death.

The performances are simply amazing, Sean Penn is the only choice for this role. As he has shown in the past he is a strong actor, and with this role Sean Penn disappears and Harvey Milk appears. He embodied the character, and he did not let up. He even resembles Harvey phyiscally, he went all out here, and its no wonder he won an Oscar. Josh Brolin who has been on quite a roll lately, was just excellent as Dan White. He looks so much like the real Dan White, and brought everything in for this role. Not an easy role to play but Josh did it. The other players like James Franco and Emilie Hirsch are also simply amazing, they have great chemistry with Sean, and everything meshed quite well. Emilie was way too adorable I have to add. Diego Luna was on and off for me, he had chemistry with Sean, that wasn't a problem. Something was just slightly off at times, but he was more on then off. His role also wasn't an easy one and I do think Diego struggled at times.

I would say this is a must see film, it isn't at all what some people might think. It is an important film, beautifully crafted.

Sick

Yes, I am sick. Sick and twisted??? Probably bahaha but I think I have a slight flu, boooo. I need to get better, I have lots to do this week! And a movie geek meet up with some Empire crew on Saturday.

Monday, June 22, 2009

NOES 2 - Freddys Revenge Drinking Game

Well folks, one of my favourite websites Arrow In The Head, has started a podcast, and I really enjoyed it and I suggest to Ammon (who does the podcast) that perhaps having a Horror Movie Drinking Game on each show would be cool. He really dug the idea, and featured it on podcast no. 3 which you can check out by clicking here.

Anyway Ammon asked me what movies I had in mind, and he might use it. So I suggested one of my all time guilty pleasure films A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge. He used it for the podcast, which was awesome.

So folks this is the game, and please if you do go ahead and play it, play it responsibly.

Put the movie on, have some drinks handy (normally the rules of the game is to have shots, but you can have some bottles of beer ect...), so every time anything remotely gay (gay in the homosexual sense) happens, you have to drink. This film is filled with an insane amount of homosexual undertones, so just be aware of how much you drink haha. You also have to drink when you feel like this movie should be showing titties on screen and you don't get any! Lets face it, slasher films and titties go hand in hand, and when you don't see any you kind of feel robbed. You also have to drink if someone on screen drinks, there is a party scene in this film so keep an eye out.

Well with those rules, you might be really off your face 30mins in, so again take it easy haha! And enjoy!!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Why I like horror films

I often get asked why I like horror films and what enjoyment I get out of them. Horror seems to be a very misunderstood genre, and especially in films there are many different types of horror.

So why do I like horror films? That is a tough one to answer, so I think it is time to tackle that one. Firstly as I stated above there are many different types of horror, you have horror/comedy such as Re-Animator or Evil Dead II. You have the slasher horror such as Friday the 13th and its sequels. You have brutal horror such as Last House On The Left or I Spit On Your Grave. You then have Vampire horror, Werewolf horror, and so forth. Yes, many, many different types and for the most part I am a fan of all the different types of horror.

The horror/comedy does not always work, so sometimes that can be a big fail. I believe a perfect example of a horror/comedy that works is Re-Animator, and for anyone that knows me I classify Re-Animator as my favourite horror film. The film works on so many levels, the acting is great, the script is sharp, and it is just a lot of fun. If you check out the unrated version is it rather gorey, I know people can't handle that, but I can and you know what, I get a kick out of it. There is a scene in particular where someone gets their head cut off, and it actually works in a rather amusing way because the head and the body both get re-animated and walked around and cause trouble. Just read that if you haven't seen the film you're either thinking, no I will pass or hell yeah gimme gimme! Its funny, its bloody, its good fun.

Moving to the slasher genre, again it is hit and miss, you either want to have characters you care about and when they bite the dust it hurts. Or you want a really groovy bad character, with idiot minor characters who you want to see get sliced up. Now either one, when done well, works. Sometimes they are done so bad that they are just really funny and you still enjoy them. Others just make you wish the badie would end it for you, so you don't have to watch such rubbish. Theres something sickly fun about rooting for the badie, maybe its because deep down theres some pleasure to be had in seeing people you can't stand get it in brutal ways? A great example for me was The Tripper which was written and directed by David Arquette. The Tripper is about a bunch of hippies who get targeted by a Ronald Reagen masked killer. I found the hippies to be so damn annoying, I wanted them to get it. The actual back story to the killer worked well too, and he really did me a favour by offing the hippies. I had a lot of fun with the film, and that folks was David's intention. A slasher film where I acually scared for the characters was actually the originally April Fools Day, I honestly didn't really want to see anyone go. The fantastic surprise ending (I wont spoil) almost gave me a heart attack! Those feelings however are good to have, and in the end I enjoyed the film and I felt everything was done perfectly.

I'll move on to more brutal horror films, which is probably a lot more difficult to explain. What pleasure does one get out of a film like that? Well you know what, there isn't a lot, and films like this remind you that life isn't always peachy keen, unfortunately there are bad people out there and bad things happen to all of us. In the case of Last House On The Left (original), it is brutal, it isn't easy to watch. Two innocent teenage girls meet the wrong group of people, these people know they are sick, and even their behaviour I believe made them sick. For their thrills, they torture and kill these two girls. The scenes are not always easy to watch, it is brutal and raw and it does remind you things like this happen (Think of the Manson Family murders), but these guys do not get away with it. Revenge happens, and there is a bit of satisfaction to be had there, but was it worth it? All this leaves it open for debate and it makes you think. And that is what I want in a film too, I want it to make me think about it afterwards, I want to feel conflicted about it. Last House works in that way, and yes I do think if the bumbling cops were left out or handled differently the film would be more brutal. The same can be said about I Spit On Your Grave, another very brutal film, hard to watch at times and again it has the revenge theme in it. Another seemingly innocent women gets brutally attacked and raped by some men, and one by one she gets them back. As a woman, I felt those pigs had what was coming to them, the brutality of what they did to her, I mean you felt it was warrented. I know people who agree and disagree, and again it is what I want out of a film, discussion, thinking and all the rest. Listening to the directors commentary really opens up about what ideas he had about the film, and how he had found a rape victim and agains my feelings about the film got stronger. It is another reminder that we live in a messed up world, and if put in the situation of the main character would we do the same thing? I am a fan of the revenge film, we all feel like getting revenge one time or another and ones like this I think really make you think, and feel things. The more brutal, the more harsh they are, the more affect they can actually have (Whether that brutally is shown on screen or not).

Moving to horror involving mythical creatures such as werewolves and vampires, why are they appealing? Well I find them interesting, how the myth has evolved over time, and how the films have changed since the 30's. Personally one of my favourite horror films with vampires is Near Dark. What I liked about it, is a lot of 'hollywood' mythos are gone, no bs with garlic, no bs with crosses, its straight to the point. Avoid the sun, and feed. And it works, fantastic characters, mixed in with a love story that works (They dont always work and these two had great chemistry). Another film where there is a good conflict, for me I didn't really feel the vampires were bad, they were doing what they had to do, to survive. And the introduction of a new person can certainly ruin a good thing. The themes are clear in the film, and you know its a good ride. It has its gorey moments and the way in which they are done are actually quite well and fitting, it felt justified. You have films that use excess gore just to shock, but it does work when fitting. For me its a great and enjoyable film and I think the situation works with or without vampires.

Hopefully I've offered some insight to a very misunderstood genre. I am sure I'll get asked why I like something so sick as Hostel, but again it relates to what I discussed about the brutal horror film. While things are very excessive in Hostel, I think it works for the film. I don't think it worked so much with Saw, but I am not a huge fan of Saw having only seen the first two.

Well folks until next time....

Oh and if you want to further your horror reading, check out Arrow in the Head, via JoBlo.com, I am proud to say I am mentioned in the AITH's latest podcast, a big thanks there :)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

























3.5/5


I had low expectations going into this, negative reviews, and all sorts of things being said about the film.

I was however pleasantly surprised, I enjoyed this film quite a lot.
I am a fan of X-Men and X-Men 2, not so much X-Men 3 but I still enjoyed it. I wanted the franchise to continue, and the next logical step was to tell Wolverines story. X-Men 2 especially touched on Wolverines past, with William Stryker (Played in X-2 by Brian Cox and here by Danny Huston).

So we start off with a very young Wolverine, we find out how old he is too. We see a dramatic scene (which I wont reveal) which leads him to go off with his brother Victor Creed. We are shown these two through time, sticking together. They eventually end up with Stryker as part of a team with other mutants. Things happen, which lead to the Weapon X project. Yes that was vague, but I would rather not spoil the plot for those who have not seen it. I actually thought they did a decent job of tying things in with the other films, there are a few exceptions but I think you can look passed them.

I have always enjoyed Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine, and he really gets to shine here. He looked very buff, and in shape. You can tell he enjoys this role and it helps bring the character alive. I love how Wolverine is in the early 90's cartoon, and I do wish they would have brought some of that Wolverine into the films. I thought Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed was genius casting, I couldn't imagine him in a role like this, but he made it work. Another case of you could tell he had fun playing this character. He brought all the right elements to it, and he had great chemistry with Hugh Jackman. If only Liev had had played that role in X-Men, it would have been a different and better film I think.

Ryan Reynolds and Dominic Monaghan had small roles but I enjoyed them both, in everything I have seen them both in they always deliver and they did that here. I would like to see Ryan in a spin off, he clearly likes the character and I think he could do well. Another stand out was Taylor Kitsch as Gambit, who is my favourite X-Men character and I was looking forward to seeing him finally. I was not disappointed, I thought they did a great job of transforming him for the screen and perfect casting with Taylor, he had the looks and charisma to pull it off. Heres hoping for a Gambit spin off. I wasn't overly impressed with Will I Am as Wraith, I did like Daniel Henney as Agent Zero. Kevin Durand (Who played bad to the bone Keamy on Lost) was quite good as Dukes who would later become Blob. I really liked Lynn Collins as Kayla the love interest, she was beautiful and she had good presence, I believed that Wolverine was in love with her. Really impressive was Danny Huston, he did his own thing as Stryker, and he made it work really well with what has already been done by Brian Cox. He was a great choice.


Some flaws this film had, I would have liked it to be longer, some characters could have been fleshed out more. Some of the effects were rather laughable, while others worked really well. There wasn't a good balance, which let the film down, hopefully they can clean it up for DVD release.
I had fun watching this, I enjoyed myself. Which is all that I can ask for with a film of this kind. X-Men fans should not miss this, I think they did a good job.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

More Rena Awesomeness!

I made something for Rena Riffel again :-)

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I got such a great response from her about it :)

"I love your picture comp of me, so honored that you made that.. awesome!! Thank you!!!" - Rena

Aww thank you Rena! It is so great to get such awesome feedback!

I also made a graphic for TNA Knockout Angelina Love and I sent it to her and she has it posted on her MySpace gallery, very cool!


I hope Christy Hemme likes the graphics collage I sent her, consisting of some cool graphics that myself and some other fans have made over the past year :) I also sent her a special RHS Project I put together consisting of fan photos and special messages.

Awww

My poor neglected blog!! I will update very sooon!