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Showing posts from August, 2010

I think you should watch: The Whitest Kids U'Know

I'm in a writing mood, and I haven't watched anything new to review yet, so I bring you this.. The Whitest Kids U'Know are a New York based sketch comedy group. The troupe consists of Trevor Moore, Zach Cregger, Timmy Williams, Darren Trumeter and Sam Brown. Many people compare them to Kids in the Hall, they've got that same outrageous (and some may say "offensive") sense of humor. They all met in college, The New York School of the Visual Arts. They got their start performing in bars, then eventually they were picked up by the Fuse Network. Fuse aired their first season, then handed them over to IFC so that they could be uncensored. They recently just finished their 4th season, and are writing their fifth. Seasons 1-3 can be found on DVD. I love these guys. Ever sense I was randomly channel surfing late at night and landed right in the middle of one of their sketches. At first, I thought "what the f**k is this.." (in the best possible way of course)

2010 Emmy Winners

My thoughts: I thought Jimmy Fallon really bombed as a host. He's only occasionally funny, and he provided for a lot of awkward moments. Get Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to co-host. That would be great. Hell Neil Patrick Harris was great, get him back! Likes: I LOVED that Jim Parsons won Best Actor in a Comedy. That was by far my favorite part of the night. I'm so happy. Also loved that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul won for Breaking Bad. I'm happy that Glee didn't sweep everything like some people thought it would. I'm also pretty intrigued to see Modern Family now, they unseated 30 Rock as the hot comedy. Also congrats to Mad Men on their threepeat! Same with Jon Stewart, I thought Conan was going to get it. Dislikes: I'm sure everyone is sick of me bitching about Rescue Me not being nominated, but I'm still pissed. The Globes better make up for this. I'm disappointed Lost didn't win anything. The show was always a little too weird for my tast

Review: Chloe

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Looks aren't everything.. I say this because the film is beautiful. It shows a wonderful snowy Toronto, it's got sophisticated costumes, and takes place in a beautiful house. However that doesn't make up for the uneven plot and ridiculous ending. Catherine (Julianne Moore) suspects her husband, David (Liam Neeson ) of cheating. She hires a call girl, Chloe (Amanda Seyfried ) to try and tempt him. She does, apparently, then meets up with Catherine to tell her about it. Soon Chloe and Catherine have formed an inappropriate relationship of their own. This could've been an interesting thriller, but ends up a cliched, over the top mess that you might find on Lifetime. It fails to explain quite a few different things such as; why does Catherine's son hate her so much? Is David having an affair? If they can afford a beautiful house like that, why can't they afford sturdier windows? It has a great cast, minus the horrendous acting of Max Theirot who plays Catherine

Indie Gems: Waitress

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Warning: This film makes you want to consume baked goods. Jenna (Keri Russell) is an unhappy, yet talented pie maker/waitress in the deep south. She's pregnant with a baby she doesn't want. She's married to a husband (Jeremy Sisto ) she hates. She starts to have an affair with her doctor (Nathan Fillon ) and tries to secretly save money behind her husband's back to find a better life to herself. This isn't an original plot. In fact, there's a lot of similarities to 'The Good Girl' and 'Mystic Pizza' to name a few. What director/writer/actress Adrienne Shelley did with this was add a lot of heart. She introduced us to some of the sweetest characters we've ever seen, and also some of the most unlikeable. I loved how the story was told with Jenna writing a letter to her baby. Instead of it doting over it, she's mad and disappointed. She's having an affair that she knows is wrong, but anything is better than being married to quite possib

It's Robert De Niro's Birthday!

Going through Robert De Niro's filmography is tough. This guy rarely does wrong. This is probably my laziest b-day post because I just can't seem to make up my mind. Happy Birthday Robert De Niro! You deserve a better post than this.. Favorite Film(s): The God Father Part II, Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter, Cape Fear, Taxi Driver. Instead of putting a lot of thought into it and picking one, I just picked them all. Seriously, one performance doesn't top the other. Raging Bull is probably my favorite film of the bunch. Although The God Father series is legendary. Least Favorite Film: Off the top of my head, I couldn't actually think of a film that I hated him in. After going through his filmography I finally spotted one! The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. I completely forgot he was in that. I'm sure he hopes everyone else does too. Do you think this flick to De Niro is what Garfield is to Bill Murray? Most Bizarre/Fun/Random: Hide and Seek. It's not one of his

Review: The Other Guys

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Adam McKay doesn't fail, does he? It's nice to go to a movie and laugh from the beginning to the very end. Adam McKay does this very well. His partnership with Will Ferrell is comedy gold, and his last few films (Anchorman, Talledega Nights, Step Brothers) have proved that. This is just another one to add to his list. We start the film with an over the top police chase through New York City. We meet our "hero" cops, P.K Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Christopher Danson. ( I refuse to call you Dwayne Johnson The Rock) Then we meet the other guys..Det. Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Det. Hoitz. (Mark Wahlberg) They've been reduced to paper work in the office. Gamble is ok with this, but Hoitz wants to get back out in the action. They eventually find themselves a huge case, and while no one else believes in them. They are determined to bring the shady David Ershon (Steve Coogan) down. The laughs are nonstop throughout the film. Wahlberg is hilarious, he's dabbled

Indie Gems: L.I.E

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The lesson here: Pay attention to your children. This year, Paul Dano and Brian Cox appeared together in another film called "The Good Heart". What a lot of people may or may not have known was that they first starred together in "L.I.E" in 2001. Paul Dano has a lot of talent and it shows in his first feature. Dano plays Howie, a confused teenager who's going through a rough time. His mother has just died, his dad doesn't pay attention to him. He's hangs with the wrong crowd. He and his buddies take up robbing houses in their spare time. Unfortunately for them, they rob Big John (Brian Cox) and John catches Howie in the act. Howie soon learns that this isn't the first time his closest friend Gary (Billy Kay) has had a run in with Big John. Howie soon finds himself forming a strange and dangerous relationship with him What amazed me most about the film was how well Dano carried it. At 15, this was his first feature film, and it's not easy con

Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win, Who Should Win.

My predictions for the major categories. I'll promise not to complain too much about the ridiculous omission of Rescue Me. Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad Michael C. Hall - Dexter Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights Hugh Laurie - House Matthew Fox - Lost Jon Hamm - Mad Men Who will win: Bryan Cranston , I feel this is the year for " threepeats ". Cranston's work in Breaking Bad is so amazing, he makes everyone else look boring in comparison. Michael C. Hall puts up a a good fight, he could pull up upset. Same goes for Jon Hamm . Who should win: Bryan Cranston Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: Ian McKellen - The Prisoner Jeff Bridges - A Dog Year Dennis Quaid - The Special Relationship Michael Sheen - The Special Relationship Al Pacino - You Don't Know Jack Who will win: Jeff Bridges, he's still riding high from his Oscar win for Crazy Heart. Who should win: Bridges or McKellen . They are both fine ac

Review: The Kids Are All Right

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I didn't notice the title was written like that either. The one word that comes to mind when I think of this film is "appreciation." In my opinion, some one's sexuality is probably the least interesting thing about them. That's how this film handled our gay couple's relationship. It didn't make a spectacle of it, it didn't make it into a joke or pun or a disadvantage. They treated it like they would any other couple. That's the way it SHOULD be.I also appreciated the layers they give this story, it was so interesting that at the end of the film I was still wanting more information. Yet, I didn't feel like it completely came up short. Nic (Annette Benning ) and Jules (Julianne Moore) are your average hard working moms. Nic is the stricter, leader of the family. Jules is the loving free spirit. They've raised great kids, Joni (Mia Wasikowska ) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson who really stand apart from their crappy friends. Joni has just turned

Review: Dinner for Schmucks

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Remember that dinner this movie is supposed to be about? Well it doesn't happen until about the 100 minute mark. Mind you Schmucks has a total run time of 114 minutes. Yep, we have to suffer through a bunch of cliche, un-funny annoyance just to get to the plot point which falls flat on it's face. Schmucks follows Tim, (Paul Rudd) a man that's hoping for a promotion at his job. He gets a trial run in the form of a dinner. A dinner where everyone invites an idiot, and the biggest idiot wins. Paul's girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) isn't to keen on this idea. He's about to give in when he meets Barry (Steve Carrell) who is quite possibly the most moronic man on the planet. I've never been a fan of movies where bad things keep piling on the main character and then in the end all miraculously end up alright. That's exactly what this is. The best word to describe this film is "annoying", because after all the horrible things we see happe