The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

     This movie is pretty straight forward. It moves along quickly and effortlessly, and the story progresses well, for the most part. I am however having a rough time digesting it.........I'm not sure if I like it or not so I'm just gonna start with a rundown and see where that leads.

      It's a fantasy movie set in England and it carries an 80's British sitcom vibe with it. The dream sequences were very fun to watch with beautiful scenery. But I found myself lost and not caring when they were in the real world. So we'll stick to the basics.....

     Christopher Plummer plays Doctor Parnassus, an immortal monk that decades ago sold his sole to the devil (Tom Waits) in order to have the love of his life. They have been locked in a game of soul capturing ever since with the good doctors only daughter as the ultimate prize to the winner of this game. I'm not entirely sure if anyone ever really did win, and that includes the audience. But that's pretty much the plot, there's distracting love triangle  that I'm not entirely sure did anything to advance the story. But be it as it may I might not have entirely gotten the directors vision.

      There was some goodness to it however. Verne Troyer played the doctor's confidant and sidekick (Percy) and had roll on the ground funny moments. Also Lily Cole played the good doctor's daughter, Valentina, who is the ultimate prize the immortal monk and the devil are fighting over. She was very good in the role, highly believable and a pure joy to watch. I wasn't sold, however, on the other main character, Anton, played by Andrew Garfield. He didn't seem to have much chemistry with the rest of the cast and just didn't fit.

        I think the part that I enjoyed the most was that Heath Ledger, Collin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp were all brilliant in their portrayal of the same character. Due to the unfortunate death of Heath Ledger during filming the dream sequences had to be filmed with the other three portraying variations of the main character Tony. All four of them were great in there parts and I was very happy with how seamlessly and believable the four were. They all did such a good job that I never got pulled out of the character no matter who's face it was.


       All in all I believe it's worth it to see if for nothing other than the performances delivered in the portrayal of Tony. But don't get your hopes up that you're going to see much else enjoyable in it.

       I'll give it 2 out of 5 stars

     

Reviewing Shameless

     I was a little leery at first when getting ready to watch this because I haven't had much luck with American versions of great British shows. In the states we try to hard to Americanize already good television because it has to fit a format. The Office is a prime example, to replace a comedic genius in Ricky Gervais with the least funny, funny man I believe I've ever seen (Steve Carrell), just to make the character somewhat likeable, was a travesty. Granted the emergence of Dwight (Rainn Wilson) made the show somewhat watchable in my eyes, but it still lacked the uncomfortable greatness of the original. Don't even get me started on the American version of Life on Mars, Ugh!!! that may make me break down and cry.

     This, however, was a very pleasant surprise. I laughed more in the first 2 minutes of the pilot episode than I have at a network comedy since Seinfeld. But that's not where the greatness of the show was. The emotion that I felt in every episode, the sympathy that I had towards each character, and the attachment that I developed with them was unexpected. Every character was complex enough that you hated them one minute and wanted them to succeed in everything they ever wanted the next. Some episodes were tear jerking and depressing while others were roll on the ground funny. The swing in emotions that I felt in just a 12 episodes made this instantly one of my all time favorites.

     William H. Macy played Frank Gallagher, a father of 6 children but do to his drunken lifestyle was anything but. The responsibility of raising the children fell on the shoulders of his oldest daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum) who selflessly sacrificed herself time and time again for the betterment of the family. The rest of the children all had intricate parts in this poverty level family and did what ever they could to survive. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) had moments where they made you laugh and others where they made you cry but the children that I enjoyed the most were Lip and Debbie.
  
     Lip (Jeremy Allen White) was literally a genius. He would sell his brain for cash on the side, by doing book reports, tutoring, and taking SAT's. However his love for his family kept him grounded in south Chicago. The dynamic between he and his father always made for great television as did his relationship with his girlfriend Karen (Laura Wiggins). Karen is a whole nother story that I would love to get into but I feel you need to discover her for yourself. Her story is hilarious at times but is also tragic and heartbreaking.

     Debbie (Emma Kenney) just wanted her fathers love. She would do anything for him and even tho she had a few episodes where she came of as a stark raving lunatic, she had such a big heart. She was a lot more aware of the surroundings than most of the characters who seemed to be blinded by whatever their goals where. Her interaction with Frank, Fiona and Steve (Fiona's boyfriend) were some great television moments.

     Other notable characters were Fiona's boyfriend Steve (Justin Chatwin), the neighbors Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton), virgin cop Tony (Tyler Jacob Moore) and neighbor hood bully Mickey (Noel Fisher) and his sister Mandy (Jane Levy) all had shinning moments. However, Sheila (Joan Cusak) stole entire episodes with just one scene much like Alyson Hannigan did at the end of American Pie.

      All in all I would give this  a 5+ out of 5 stars. The season finale was very weak and lacked a cliff hanger but a couple of episodes during the season really picked up the slack. Most notably the episode Daddyz Girl that literally ran the gamut of emotion. That episode was so good I've watched it alone 6 times, it had moments where I had to rewind and watch again because even at the sixth time watching it I laughed so hard I needed to see it again. It also had feelings of overwhelming sadness towards a couple of characters and joy for others that made it one of the single best hours of television I've personally ever seen.

Eastbound and Down Season 1 & 2

       Normally I would separate these two into a couple of different reviews especially since season 1 happened last year. However Netflix didn't deem me important enough to send it until recently and I already had season 2 eating up space on my DVR so I just figured I'd do it all at once. Eastbound and down was much different then I thought it would be.

       The older I get the less interested I've become in slapstick comedy. Don't get me wrong I laugh very very hard when I see people getting hit in the face with a shovel, but I need substance to stay involved. Without well written jokes and moments I tend to loose interest fairly quickly. I've also begun to really enjoy uncomfortableness and seeing people reaction to that uncomfortableness. I think that is where Eastbound and Down delivers brilliantly.
      
Normally I would not give details on places and things but I have a feeling that 90% of the people who read this will not make it through the first 3 episodes because the vulgarity becomes over bearing at times and there is really not one likable character in the entire series. I will stay away from major details but you may stumble across a few plot twist reveals. Don't get me wrong it had some laugh out loud moments and I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the main character made everyone else around him uncomfortable to the brink of madness and was completely unaware of it. But those of you that do stick with it I hope can appreciate watching the almost unbearable at times embarrassment you feel for him. There were moments that I covered my face like a girl watching a horror movie and peered through my fingers at the TV because I just couldn't stand to see cringe moments happen anymore.

       In season one we meet Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) A foul mouthed, narcissistic former MLB pitcher who's talented right arm become useless and overbearing personality became way to much for professional baseball. After a stint in rehab he returned to his hometown in North Carolina to live with his brother and begin his new life as a middle school gym teacher. While trying to win the love of his former high school sweetheart April Buchanen (Katy Mixon), and also hopefully find his way back into the Major Leagues,  he uncomfortably bumbles his way through life and even manages to get a former classmate, Steve Janowski (Steven Little), that idolizes him to become his personal assistant. The ending plays out perfectly because even though your led in one direction the it actually ends the only way that this story could end.

        Season 2 begins with our hero who is now a cock fighter in Mexico. You get more of Kenny being Kenny and season 2 follows the format of season 1 to a tee. In fact the story line is strikingly similar and there's not one change in Kenny's approach towards people and situations. Again I found it very humorous watching him bumble and stumble through social situations and the uncomfortableness in every episode was hysterical. but I felt like it became almost to much. I felt like we got the joke and I was hoping to see some growth out of the characters but that did not happen. In all honesty I felt like this should have been a one and done series. There was absolutely no need for a second season. Even though I did find humor in it, the situations quickly became old hat and the semi Hollywood ending at the end was almost a disappointment.

         Season 1 I would give easily a 4 out of 5 stars. It was over the top and offensive at times but I enjoyed the freshness of it and the fact that our hero was anything but who didn't find his pot of gold at the end.

         Season 2 was a horrendous let down and I can only give it 2 out of 5 but not because it couldn't have been enjoyable. More because it seemed like I just got done watching it with different people.

Cop Out Movie Review

         I really want to start this off by saying that I'm a really big Kevin Smith fan. He hooked me with Clerks which I consider one of the straight up greatest comedies ever filmed. Kevin Smith has always done a great job of not necessarily catching realism but getting you inside a persons fantasies in a realistic setting. Another great aspect of Kevin's is his ability to pair characters to get the best out of them, but unfortunately this is a review of Cop Out. I say unfortunately because even though this is a Kevin Smith directed film it was obvious he had very little control of the product.

         Cop Out is a way over the top homage to cop buddy films of the 80's and I do mean way over the top. We ended up with a pair of rogue cops fitting the cop buddy format. One white one black, one a crazy loose cannon one a little more straight laced. They get in trouble for shooting up the city and get suspended, don't give a shit about the suspension and solve crimes anyway. They even went as far as to recruit a criminal to help with their cause. And of course there is a  pair of cop buddies that blame the original ones for ruining their hard done police work. I'm pretty sure that describes every cop buddy movie I've ever watched and you get it all here with a crazy over the top comedic twist.

         The main characters of Cop Out are Paul Hodges (Tracy Morgan) and Jimmy Monroe (Bruce Willis). And there is no chemistry between the two. Bruce Willis seems arrogant and above the movie in his acting, you could really tell his heart wasn't in it even though this was a role that was perfect for him. He had a chance to mix Die Hard with Moonlighting. We have a chance to get the funny Bruce Willis to meld with the action one and he missed the mark completely. The on screen dialogue between Bruce and Tracy was very hard to watch as it seemed like Bruce spent more time looking at his watch than at his partner. The saddest part about his portrayal was that I've always considered myself a Bruce Willis fan. He's delivered great movies in his time, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard, Lucky Number Slevin, Tears of the Sun and Sixth Sense were great Bruce Willis serious/ action movies. I've even liked him in some of his crappy movies like The Fifth Element, Color of Night and  The Jackal. The Whole Nine Yards and it's sequel The Whole Ten Yards prove that he can be a straight man to the goofy guy. So I have no idea what the hell happened here.

         Tracy Morgan on the other hand was hysterical. He had great chemistry with pretty much every character in the film not named Bruce Willis. His scenes with Dave (Seann William Scott) were priceless, and Seann William Scott stole the movie. I laughed much harder than I probably should have  at some of the things Dave was doing and saying. I also really enjoyed Kevin Pollack being well Kevin Pollack. He and Adam Brody played the other pair of cop buddies Hunsaker and Mangold. Guillermo Díaz also delivered a fun portrayal of the big tough bad guy.

          I believe this is the one time you can't blame a director for a movie not doing so well. Kevin Smith excels when he is in control of the script and it just didn't feel like one of his movies. Bruce Willis on the other hand just really dropped the ball. Sometimes Bruce if your not feeling it walk away from the paycheck and don't take a giant dump on the careers of other people just cause your not into the movie.

        As a whole I thought the movie had some laugh out loud moments and it was fun seeing a film genre from my youth again but I can't say I liked it. Seann William Scott may have saved it from being another horrible cast of SNL type movie where a former cast member stars in a movie and even though they're hysterical the movie itself is weak. I'm gonna give it 2 maybe 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Inception

          First of all I would like to start of by saying that Leonardo DiCaprio is one hell of an actor. In my opinion he his one of the top 4 or 5 actors in their prime today. There are very few people who can act on the level of Robert Di Niro, Marlon Brando, or Al Pacino, that is before Al did Scent of a Woman when he just started screaming all his lines at us. Those three I would consider the three finest actors I've ever seen and today's generation is privileged to have 5 guys that I would put on that level. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Matt Damon, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio should be mentioned with the all time greats. The true mark of a great actor is while you are watching a movie you know you are looking at Leonardo but you believe in your mind he is Dominic Cobb. Sure there are other great actors, Sydney Poitier, Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Samuel Jackson, Ron Perlman, Kris Kristofferson, but unfortunately when I look at them I see other characters that they've played. To much bleeds over from one role to the next.

        That being said Leo has a very daunting task ahead of him when he tackles Dominic Cobb in the movie Inception. The reason I say daunting is because we are about to witness Leo play the exact same character he played in Shutter Island as Marshal Teddy Daniels.. I'm gonna give big ups to Leo as he pulled it off. I totally bought into his portrayal Dominic Cobb, the dream thief. He was brilliant playing a man who was run out of the U.S. for a crime he didn't commit. In a world where people can enter someone else's mind through their dreams, Cobb, who is considered the very best dream thief in the world,  must accomplish the ultimate dream caper. If he can pull off Inception, he will get his ultimate reward because all he wants to do is return home to his children.

        Enter Saito, Played by Ken Watanabe. While Cobb and his dream thief partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) stumble around Saito's dream looking for a tucked away secret, they are unknowingly auditioning for the job that will get Cobb everything he values most. Saito needs Cobb to put together a team of dreamers for a one of a kind reverse heist. Cobb recruits a talented architect grad student Ariadne (Ellen Page), master forger Eames (Tom Hardy), and chemist Yusaf (Dileep Rao). Once his team is in place he sets out to pull off the the perfect crime to Saito's biggest competitor, Robert Fisher (Cillian Murphy). Instead of extracting valuable information from Fisher's subconscious they are going to plant a thought deep in his mind so when he awakes he thinks it's his very one idea.

         The story moves very quickly, confusingly so at times, but very entertaining. There is enough gunfights and explosions to make any action fan happy and a beautiful love/ redemption story taking place for the softer hearts. Christopher Nolan does well directing a story that could have been a complete mess. You do however need to pay attention this is a movie that I would suggest watching straight through. If you miss anything you could be so lost that it's hard to get back on track. I would recommend it more for people that enjoy intellectual thrillers. Nolan does a decent job of explaining what the hell is going on throughout the film but it does at times jump around and you could get bogged down with to much thinking.

      I didn't love this movie and I didn't hate it I would give it a soft three out of five stars.

       

Pirate Radio

       I just got done watching Pirate Radio and I enjoyed it immensely. The casting and directing was top notch, and the soundtrack could be one of my all-time favorites only because it featured some incredibly rock centered around the mid 60's British scene but featuring The Who and the Rolling Stones.
      
        This movie was directed by Richard Curtis most known for Mr. Bean and the Black Adder, a couple of hysterical British comedies that if you ever have the opportunity to check out I would advise doing so. Pirate Radio itself is loosely based in historical fact that focused around a stuffy British government vs a band of misfit DJ's broadcasting rock and roll from a ship (Radio Caroline) in the North Sea just off the coast of Great Britain.

       The story focuses around Young Carl played by Tom Sturridge who is sent to his Godfathers boat as a way to learn about life after he was expelled from school. His Godfather is played by Bill Nighy quickly accepts Carl into the fold and assures him that he won't be receiving a proper upbringing. But of course it's not all fun and games as the British government is hell bent on shutting down this "radio pornography". The special task force in charge of destroying the dreams of all of Britain's youth is lead by Minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) who quickly finds an accomplice named Twatt..........Yes that's right I said it and not only did I spell his name right but I giggled a little every time it was said and I have to give big ups to Richard Curtis for his subtle description of the government official who worked so hard to piss off the kids.

      The most surprising casting job and the one I was most worried about going into it was Phillip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of the count. Phillip, in my mind, become one of the greatest actors in the world at making you feel the uncomfortableness of life. I was a little worried to see him cast as the coolest man in the world but he pulled it off and with flying colors. I was very impressed by his performance.

     There are some great scenes and plot twists but then also some stinkers. The scenes between Carl and Dave were very entertaining. I also enjoyed the character Bob and his interactions with the rest of the DJ's. Although unneeded in the story the development of Carl's real reason for being on the ship lead to some uncomfortable and humorous scenes as well. I also enjoyed the tension between Gavin and the Count. Also Midnight Mark, oddly, stole every scene he was in.

     I'm going to give it 7 out of 10 stars. It won't go down as one of the greatest I've ever seen but the light hearted humor and incredible soundtrack kept me interested and excited throughout the entire movie. Also Phillip Seymour Hoffman was, as usual, exquisite.

Frustrated Dolphins fan

  I just got done watching the Dolphins 2010 season ending debacle and I must say that as a fan I'm utterly embarrassed. They showed no heart on offense and defense and owner Stephan Ross should make a clean sweep of the coaching staff. Yes the entire coaching staff that include Mike Nolan. All we heard all season long was how great of a job Nolan did but when his superstar linebacker Karlos Dansby got hurt the defense showed zero heart. Also the fact that your teams leading interceptor Jason Allen was cut early in the season and still lead the team in interceptions at seasons end with 3 is an embarrassment.

     All I heard all week was Brandon Marshall throw me the damn ball and when the ball was thrown to him he again alligator armed it. I get it Henne threw a poor pass but come on Brandon how about showing a little effort and going after the ball. And then to get up after making a rare 2010 good catch in the third quarter screaming about that's how it's done. Brandon if you'd made plays like that all season Chad Henne would have been an all -pro.

     I said in an earlier blog that I thought Henne needed another season with the handcuffs off to see what he's made of and that was a wrong assessment. Henne regressed all season and was a horrible excuse for a back up over the last 3 games much less a starter. And stop with the Tyler Thigpen talk he's a career 50% completion passer who has failed in every opportunity he has had with the Dolphins. And then for the O-Line to quit on Henne they way it did allowing 3 sacks early in the third quarter. Everyone of them should be embarrassed.

       As of today I think there are only 5 players on this team that should remain Devone Bess, Cameron Wake, Jake Long, Richie Icognito, and Ronnie Brown everyone else is expendable and should be judged
 harshly tonight and going forward. I know a lot of people don't agree with me on Ronnie Brown but he can't be blamed for every time he gets on a roll being pulled from the game because Tony Sporano needs to stay with his system.

     And Tony Sporano, I don't know what you've done that has upset me more. Cheering incessantly after field goals, your refusal to go from the wildcat, your refusal to ride the hot running back, your conservative play calling, or the blaming of players. 

     Disgusting truly disgusting

     As a Dolphin fan I haven't been this embarrassed of my team ever and that includes the 62-7 playoff loss to the Jaguars in Dan Marino's final game.

Call Of Duty Black Ops Gamer review

         Just finished the campaign on Black Ops and all though the story was not as good as Modern Warfare 2, it does have it's perks and surprises. I also have found that the online play is much better with the perks being much more fun and ability to purchase weapon attachments much nicer then in Modern Warfare 2 where you need to earn them through challenges.

        Before I get into the campaign I want to touch lightly on the multi player aspect of Black Ops.  The maps are different some good some bad but all deliver nice hiding spots and great movement for deathmatch and team deathmatch. Some of the kill streak rewards are fun like the RC-XD which is basically a remote control car strapped with a bomb, and attack dogs makes the rewards very entertaining. I also like the fact that kill streaks carry over to the next map. If your match ends when you have 2 kills it only takes one in the next match to unlock rewards. Also the spy plane is a great addition because it stays on for every member of your team until shot down. So far I really have to say that the multi player deathmatch may be the best of it's kind. Halo Reach, in my mind, with it's multi player firefight is the best online game out there but Black Ops deathmatch and team deathmatch are not very far behind. My only complaint about it is that sometimes you will re spawn right in enemy territory and thus stand absolutely no chance in defending yourself

        The single player campaign was very frustrating and very entertaining at the same time. The story took twists and turns that kept it very interesting. Unfortunately the big twist at the end was hinted at many times throughout the game and really didn't have the emotional hit it should have. It was nice having a game take place in Vietnam. A lot of historical things that have never appeared in games or were poorly done before were done very well in this game. You get to fight through the Tet offensive and blow up the The Ho Chi Minh trail, as well as sneaking thru the jungles fighting your way through and breaking out of hostage camps.

     Also if you break out of your chair on the main screen there are a few fun little games to play on one of the computers in the room. Find the cheat codes to access these little easter eggs on IGn or other cheat code sites

      The voices of Sam Worthington as Alex Mason and Ed Harris as Jason Hudson really added to the enjoyment of the game.

      The very frustrating part of this game is that you are a small task force against entire army's. The game took me just over 8 hours to complete on normal but it got very enraging in spots where you had to attack with incredible precision or battle thru an unending respawning of enemies. The problem with the latter is if you didn't pull off the task needed to advance the story at the perfect time you would be shredded by enemies and have to restart.

      All in all I'll give this an 8 out of 10 stars for the campaign and 9 out of 10 for the multiplayer. The down part in the multiplayer is Zombie mode which has absolutely no purpose anywhere near this game and is just an excuse to shoot zombies. I get it it's always fun to shoot zombies but it's really not needed and actually brought down my enjoyment of the game