Category: Reviews

Reviews of Music, Movies and More…

Hellboy: Unnatural Selection

Reviews

Man… I really am digging these Hellboy books. They sort of take a stab toward horror without getting into any of the cheesy melodrama that some horror has. Writer Tim Lebbon takes his shot at Hellboy with Unnatural Selection.

The story here is that someone is bringing back all the monsters of legend, pulling them right out of the Memory. He’s setting them loose on Earth, and its up to the BPRD to find out why and stop it, because the dragons and sea monsters are starting to eat lots of people.

Like other Hellboy books, its one part horror and one part action, with a dash of comedy. The blend is so perfect that the pages pratically turn themselves. The writing was good enough that I’m going to seek out more Tim Lebbon books. Thumbs up for the lastest Hellboy.

Accepted

Reviews

I went out and saw a sneak preview of Accepted the other night. The story: A kid gets rejected from 8 colleges and rather than disappoint his parents more, he invents a college, makes a webpage and fakes an acceptance letter… then his dad wants to drop him off, so he uses the tuition money to lease a building to fake a school… then dad wants to meet the dean, so they hire a friends crazy uncle to play the part… then it turns out the webpage works, and a couple hundred kids also got accepted… you can see where this is going, right?

The movie was completely predictable in just about every way, but that didn’t stop it from being hilarious. Justin Long already has a decent career going, and I think he’s got a bright future ahead in comedies. All the rest of the cast is good too, and they work well together. And the college they invent is a place I would have rather spent my learning years because I might have actually learned something useful.

I recommend the movie, so when it opens, go see it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man`s Chest

Reviews

Did you like the first one? Yes? Then you should go see this one too.

Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is just as good as the first one, the blend of action and comedy with a few nostalgic bits thrown in for those of us old enough to have seen the Disney ride before they began to overhaul it, but it does have one minor flaw. If you have seen the Back to the Future trilogy of movies then you are well familiar with this flaw. Since they filmed movies 2 and 3 at the same time, there are elements of the second film that are clearly setup for the third. In fact, from a purely story and plot standpoint, number two is not a satisfying film because while the story moves along nothing is really resolved.

But the swordfighting and ship combat is as good as ever. Seeing this movie will leave you itching for the final chapter… which should be along for Memorial Day 2007.

Blade: The Series

Reviews

I have two words for you: Randy Quaid.

Now, I’m not going to denegrate Mr. Quaid because he is a decent actor given the right material, but he is certainly not an “A” lister. I loved him in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, and to be honest his performance in Category 7: The End of the World was one of the few watchable things in it. Here, he plays a vampire expert, and like the rest of the show it is just not worth it.

Blade without Wesley Snipes is… well, its pretty much the same because Wesley Snipes is one the most wooden actors in existance, and the man they got to fill his shoes is like a fake wood made of fiberglass.

Trash… complete trash. So help me I’ll probably watch the whole damn season.

A Hundred Highways

Reviews

If you are like me, and I’m told that there are few like me, despite a general dislike for country music you still hold certain singers and songwriters in high regard, and Johnny Cash is one of those. I’ll admit I lost touch with Johnny as a young man, but with American Recordings, Mr. Cash returned to the mainstream and began to truely influence other musicians all over again.

If you are like me, when you heard about American V: A Hundred Highways, being his last recordings, you were excited. Well, its not coming out for a few days yet, but over at MySpace you can listen to the entire album right now.

If you are like me, you’ll listen to the whole thing a number of times, and then buy the CD to complete your American collection, and deep down you’ll miss Johnny Cash, but you’ll still smile because of all the wonderful songs he left for us to listen to.

Wolverine: Weapon X

Reviews

I actually finished reading Wolverine: Weapon X by Marc Cerasini a while ago… like the other superhero books from Marvel and DC, this one is written very well. The story is that of the creation of Weapon X, meaning the experiment that bonded the adamantium to Logan’s bones. The entire story is being told in two parts, the first is the experiment itself from the doctors’ points of view as they subject Logan to the process and later attempt to mold him into a weapon. The other half of the story is told inside Logan’s head. As the doctors try to destroy Logan’s self for some reason, and one assumes it is related to his healing factor, one memory remains unsuppressed, a mission he once did into Korea, and he relives it while externally they are controlling him.

Like the other books from Marvel and DC, I definately recommend this if you are into superheroes. Maybe even if you aren’t. The story is tight and well crafted, and the references to external comic characters are few and far between so that a non-comic reader will be able to follow it just fine.

Click

Reviews

Openning today is a new Adam Sandler film, Click. Last night, the wife and I went to a Sneak Preview of it.

Click is about Michael Newman, a typical guy with a wife and two kids who spends a little too much time at his job working to provide a life for his family that barely shares with them. Frustrated when he can’t even figure out which of his dozen remotes turns on the TV, he sets out to find a universal remote to replace them all. The only store open is Bed, Bath & Beyond, and wandering into the Beyond section he meets Morty who hooks him up with a truely universal remote, one that controls his universe.

If you’ve seen the trailers then you know he does some silly stuff with it, but the movie isn’t all about the jokes. There is also the story about deciding what’s more important: work or family. Michael keeps picking work, and soon enough the remote’s built in intelligence starts skipping moments in his life for him base on the decisions he’s been making… and everything spins out of control.

I wouldn’t recommend this movie if you want slapstick comedy. If you are looking for a Wedding Crashers or a 40 Year Old Virgin, this one isn’t quite as balls out funny. But, like Robin Williams “Bicentennial Man” from 1999, this movie is funny (riotously funny in moments) with a sentimental undercurrent that surges to the surface as the story unfolds. And if that is the kind of film you want to see, Click is an excellent movie.

Cars

Reviews

I went to see Pixar’s Cars this past weekend, and it didn’t ruin the streak of excellence that I have some to expect from Pixar.

Originally when I saw teasers for this film way back when, I thought to myself “Talking cars? Eh…” Then I heard some rumors about a split between Disney and Pixar, and that Cars was a last contractual effort (which in my experience means, “get it done, but put no heart in it”). All in all, I had very low expectations for this movie.

The message of the film is that faster isn’t always better. Its the story of Lightning McQueen, rookie racecar superstar who on his way to a final showdown race to decide the winner of The Piston Cup gets stuck in a little town called Radiator Springs. Radiator Springs sits on Route 66, the Mother Road, but like the road has long been forgotten because the new interstate road gets cars where they are going faster. So, McQueen learns a thing or two about slowing down and applies them to his racecar life and all is well in the end.

It was funny and heartwarming, everything I’ve come to expect from Pixar, and as always I’m in awe of the detail that they work into their animations. Simply a stunning film.

Prior to the movie, you will be treated to a new short film, One Man Band, that gets a few giggles. And after the movie, be sure to stay for the credits and see the tribute to John Ratzenberger (who has been in all of Pixar’s movies), as well as a few other things.

Overall, Cars is a good family movie. So load up the kids, stop by the bank for cash to cover the astronomical prices, and go see it. You’ll probably buy it on DVD too when it comes out.

The Devil Wears Prada

Reviews

Yes. I did indeed go and see a sneak preview of this decidedly chicky chick flick of chick-normous proportions. Allison’s job at a movie PR firm gets us invites to all the local sneaks. So, the wife wanted to go, and the price was right, so again, yes, I went to see The Devil Wears Prada.

It wasn’t bad. In fact, it was fairly funny, and I liked pretty much everyone in it. Afterwards I was told that it deviated from the book alot, to the point that I am absolutely sure that I will not read the book because it sounds worse than the film. But the movie was good. I laughed, I didn’t cry, and I felt odd being one of about seven men in a theater packed with women. So, if you like chick movies, go see this, its worth it. Of course, on June 30th when this opens, all the guys will be seeing Superman Returns.

The Break-Up

Reviews

Monday I got to see a sneak preview of the movie The Break-Up.

Damn it was funny. Seriously, everything you can think of that would be funny about a couple arguing and breaking up, its all pretty much in here. The end was a little bit dopey, but at least it wasn’t a cop out… and if you see the movie, you’ll know what I mean.

And I’ve come to realize I need a rating system of some sort… so I’ll have to work on that. But in the meantime, I’ll give The Break-Up four out of five whatever they are.