10 Times I Gave Into The Hype and Was Let Down

*This is the 8th entry in my 10 series. Click the label to view my previous posts.*

My last post in the 10 Series was about movies/TV that I watched after having them recommended to me, and I ended up loving them. Sadly, love can't always be the case. Sometimes, they are just not for me.

10 Times I Gave Into the Hype, And Was Let Down

1) Grave of the Fireflies
I had actually never heard of this until I participated in a tournemant over at The LAMB It was on IMDB's top 200, and everyone said it was devestatingly beautiful. Well, it's devestating all right. But I just could not get over the decisions Seita makes throughout. He seems like he's old enough to grasp the reality that is going on, yet he does. Yes, I know the movie was based on the author's real life experience that he regretted, I get that. I just couldn't enjoy this.

2) The Boondock Saints
This one is a little different. I saw this on my own, and thought it was just okay. Years later, I ran into so many people that were like "THIS IS THE BEST FUCKING MOVIE EVER MADE! OMG!!" So I watched it again because clearly I had missed something. Nope. This is one of the most overrated movies of all time. Is it bad? No. Is it the best? Not even close. Norman Reedus is awesome though. I'll give you that.

3) Mad Men
Made Men is a good show. The acting is good, the costumes are beautiful, it was just not my thing. I couldn't get into it. I think it deserves all of the great praise it gets, but I just find it a little boring.

4) Tree of Life
Much of the blogosphere was a buzz about this film in 2011. And I hated it. At first, I felt bad for not liking it as much as everyone else did, but then I just reminded myself that this movie was shitty editing 101. Way to ruin what sounded like an interesting script, Terrance Malik.

5) Antichrist
I made a few rules after seeing this awful film. 1) I will never watch a movie on the basis that "it pissed people off at Cannes." 2) I will never watch another Lars Von Trier film.

6) Melancholia
I broke my Lars Von Trier rule with this, because he casted so many people I love. I even gave some of this other movies a shot just to make sure. I've come to the conclusion that I will never enjoy anything he does because it just comes off as insanely pretencious and slow. Seriously, I was happy I watched this OnDemand because I could fast forward through that God awful opening.

7) How I Met Your Mother
This was a show that was recommended to me from someone who knew I liked The Big Bang Theory. They are nothing alike, so the comparision was weird to start with, but this show would be better without Josh Radnor. He's just not engaging on screen and I have trouble liking anything he does. Colbie Smulders doesn't do much either. It's a shame Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segal. They are all wonderful.

8) The Amazing Spiderman
At first I was like "NO they can't remake Spiderman!" Then they started casting all of these people I loved, so I gave it a shot. I was right the first time. No, they should've had remade Spiderman. Raimi's verison was fine.

9) Mama
Oooh! A creepy looking movie produced by Gulliermo del Toro staring Nikolaj Caster-Waldau AND Jessica Chastain? I'm in!! Oh wait, someone took an interesting concept of a thriller and turned it into a PG-13 horror movie. Wah-waaaaahh.

10) Friday Night Lights
This has to be one of the worst shows I've ever seen. Maybe it's because I'm from a small town that I hated. Maybe it's because this show is far too melodramatic for me. I don't see the appeal. Speaking of not seeing the appeal, this photo set really speaks to me:

Indie Gems: Oslo, August 31st

"Then I realized how small Oslo really is."

 

Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) is a recovering addict that is finally granted a leave from rehab to apply for a job in Oslo. While he's there, he meets up with old friends, some are happy to see him, others are not.

 

Some of the best scenes in Oslo, August 31st are ones where Anders is just observing other people. The film opens with two people talking about Oslo as we get a street view of the city. Another scene where we listen to a girl in a café read off things that she'd love to do. Even something as simple as Anders just lying on his back in the park means more. The film is more about Anders' struggle with depression rather than addiction. At least that's what I got out of it. Being in Oslo, he's forced to see what the consequences of his actions have caused. He's not married, has no children. When he looks at his friends, he sees what he could've have, and he's afraid he never will.

 

This was a very dreamy film to watch. I felt so aware of the surroundings through Anders' eyes. Oslo is a beautiful city, but to him it's a city that he will never fit in. This makes the ending even more heartbreaking.

 

Grade: A

 

Memorable Quote: "Look at me. I'm 34 years old and I have nothing." - Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie)

10 Times I Gave Into The Hype, And Was Left Satisfied.

*This is the 7th entry in my 10 Series. Click the label to see previous posts.*

One of the best things about the movie blogging community is that you get a lot of great recommendations. In fact, I've gotten so many that it's almost hard to keep track. So, for this particular post, I tried to mix films/TV saw before I got in to blogging and some that started after.

10 Times I Gave Into The Hype, And Was Left Satisfied

1) Breaking Bad
I often say that this is the best TV decision I've ever made, because Breaking Bad is hands down the best show I've ever seen. I didn't have too many friends that watched it at the time. I just saw all the acclaim over the internet. But I have to say, it was worth waiting for Netflix to deliver the DVDs one by one. This show is fantastic. It has some of the best writing and acting I've ever seen and I swear some episodes give me anxiety issues. I just care about these characters so much.

2) True Blood
This one I have to blame on my co-workers. They are rabid book and TV show fans. I initially brushed them off. I'm not into the vampire fad. I can't stand Twilight and Vampire Diaries is far too soapy. But when I was graciously lent seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, I watched them (and the entire half of season 3 that was available OnDemand) in one weekend. I couldn't help it. This show is like crack. Even though season 5 really sucked compared to the rest, I will never quit this show.

3) Drive
This one was definitely because of the blogging community. I really had no intentions of seeing this, despite liking the lead actors enough. But then the reviews started pouring in, and I had to check it out. It was nothing like I expected it to be, and all in a good way.

4) Role Models
I'm fairly quick when it comes to judging comedies. I can usually tell by the trailer if I'll like something or not. When this hit theaters, I thought it looked insanely stupid. When I went to the theater to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno, that was sold out, so I went to this instead. My friend swore I would be pleased. He was right. This movie was hysterical and Zack and Miri was a let down.

5) Pulp Fiction
I know. It's almost embarrassing to admit that I originally had no intention to see Quentin Tarantino's past work. But friends kept pushing, and now I'm a Tarantino fanatic. I can't believe I was going to blow this movie off! Seriously, I suck sometimes.

6) Fight Club
This was another movie that was just kind of "there" to me. Eventually, I sat down to watch it, and even though the two people I was watching it with spoiled the ending about 5 minutes into the movie, I still liked it.

7) Skyfall
I have zero interest in Bond movies. In fact, Skyfall was the first one I actually sat through from start to finish. (Although I'm sure I've seen all of Casino Royale, just not at once) I'm so glad I went to this because Skyfall was awesome. I may not be fully sold on Bond as a whole, but I have no problem saying this was one of the better films of 2012.

8) Key and Peele
I can thank Twitter for getting me into Key and Peele. When I first saw the show myself, I thought "meh." But people kept retweeting their sketches, and I would occasionally check them out. It was worth it, because this show is hilarious. It reminds me a lot of Chapelle's Show, which I greatly miss. I didn't catch these two during their MADTV days, but I'm happy to watch them now. Check out their college football sketch. That's my favorite.

9) The Machinist
After Batman Begins came out. I was told that anyone that is a fan of Christian Bale's needs to see his work in this extremely underrated film. It's true, it's one of his best. And how the fuck did he not get an Oscar nomination for this?

10) Sherlock Miniseries
Another one, thanks to the blogging community. Benedict Cumberbatch is the best Sherlock I've ever seen. Same with Martin Freeman as Watson. I wasn't sure if a modern day Sherlock would work, but it's easily become my favorite adaptation of it. Cumberbatch and Freeman have AMAZING chemistry and I cannot wait for the next season. It's streaming instant on Netflix now, check it out. Seriously.

10 Times Movies/TV Made Me Search Out Actors

*This is the 6th entry in my 10 Series. Click the label to view my previous posts.*

Ever have those "Aha!" moments when watching a film? When an actor's performance moves you so much or catches your eye that you immediately jump online and start looking for other movies they've been in? I have.

1) Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Mysterious Skin
I knew who my now favorite actor was when I saw Mysterious Skin for the first time. But I had only known him from 10 Things I Hate About You and Third Rock from the Sun. When I saw how he owned this performance I immediately sought out other films. Brick, Manic, etc. This film is still one of his best.

2) Evan Rachel Wood - Thirteen
When I saw Thirteen, I immediately knew that this is a film that every teenager should watch at some point or another. I was really drawn into Wood's performance and she's become one of my favorite actresses ever since.

3) Ellen Page - Hard Candy
I came across Hard Candy in a magazine, and when I rented it, it blew me away. I immediately had to see more of Ellen Page. Why was her hair cut so short? That led me to Mouth to Mouth, a film in which she shaved her head for. Luckily for me, she had a bunch of stuff in the works at that point, so I didn't have to wait long to see what else she had to offer.

4) James McAvoy - The Last King of Scotland
I totally swooned for James McAvoy when I first saw him in The Last King of Scotland. I watched every single episode of Shameless he was in on youtube. Actually, I had to watch a LOT of his stuff on youtube because it wasn't widely available in the States at that time.

5) Cillian Murphy - Red Eye
Those eyes! I had a hard time hating his character in Red Eye when he was supposed to be the villain. He was just so sexy! I was surprised to find out he was Irish when I looked him up later and caught myself up on his filmography.

6) Juno Temple - Notes on a Scandal
It's strange, she had such a small part in this, but I knew she was going to be great one day. She didn't really have any other films before this. Then Atonement came out and I spotted her again. Now she's had quite the list of roles, and I'm happy to say she's been awesome every time. She's a very fearless actress.

7) Tom Hiddleston - The Avengers
You would think I would've noticed him in Thor. Nope, Thor didn't get better to be until AFTER I saw the Avengers. Tom was awesome as Loki. His performance is only second to Heath Ledger's Joker when it comes to comic book villains. It was actually nearly impossible to find some of the other stuff Tom did before 2011. Luckily Tumblr is obsessed with him and provided me with enough interviews an gifs to last me.

8) Alexander Skarsgard - True Blood
Ahh, Viking Vampire Eric Northman. This man is SO sexy and he plays Northman to perfection. He's my favorite character on the show. (When he's not with Nora, who's ruining the chemistry he and Pam had by the way) On the side - Allan Hyde as Eric's Maker, Godric. He's another actor I had to know more about after seeing him on True Blood.

9) Nikolaj Caster-Waldau - Game of Thrones
It's very easy to hate Jaime Lannister when you watch Game of Thrones. But if you follow the books, you know that Jaime instantly becomes a fan favorite. His journey is one of the best in that story, and Nikolaj is perfect to play him. I've come across qutie a few good foreign films that I may not have seen because of Nikolaj.

10) Charlie Cox - Boardwalk Empire

As terrible as this sounds, I was actually really disappointed when I found out Charlie Cox wasn't actually Irish. He does the accent so well! To be perfectly honest, Boardwalk Empire is the only good thing I've seen him in, everything else has been mediocre to bad. But it's not because of him, and I look forward to the new show he was just recently casted in.

FYC Banner: LAMMYS 2013

 

It's that time of year for the LAMMY nominations again. I'm considered in two categories; Best Running Feature, for my Indie Gems and Funniest Writer.  

I may not be as funny as the rest, or as original, but I do love blogging, and it would be pretty cool to add "LAMMY nominee" to my blog. So vote for me if you wish! If not, seriously just vote in general. There's a lot of great blogs up for consideration.

10 Times Movies/TV Have Made Me Instantly Buy Their Soundtracks

*This is the 5th entry in my 10 series. Click the label to see my previous posts.

Music moves us, so much so that sometimes after watching a film with a great soundtrack, The first thing I do afterwards is go buy their soundtrack.

10 Times Movies/TV Have Made Me Instantly Buy Their Soundtracks

1) Juno
Hipsters: The Movie actually had a really hip sound track. I had never heard of The Moldy Peaches before I saw this, and I'm glad I found them because I really enjoy their music. There's a lot of songs on this soundtrack that I wouldn't really have in my collection otherwise, and for that I am thankful

2) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
There's a lot of great indie bands on this. My favorite is We Are Scientists. Plus Mark Mothersbaugh did Nick and Norah's theme, and I love everything he does.

3) The Dark Knight Rises
I loved this movie so much that I bought the soundtrack on iTunes while I was still standing in the theater lobby.

4) Kick Ass
Truth be told, I didn't like Kick Ass that much. Still, the movie had a great soundtrack. Plus the Banana Splits song is so insanely obnoxious that I love listening to it when I'm running.

5) Thirteen
Another one Mark Mothersbaugh scored. I loved the music in this movie. The Clinic's song sticks with me the most. Then there's Lemon by Katy Rose, that's a song she wrote for the movie specifically and it fits so well.

6) Drive
There's just something about Drive's 80's movie feel that I adore. The soundtrack helps. It's a good one to just chill out and listen to while doing nothing.

7) Beasts of the Southern Wild
I honestly would've been ok with this movie if it had no dialogue and only music.  The scene with Hushpuppy and the sparklers? Breathtakingly beautiful.

8) Slumdog Millionaire
I had Jai Ho stuck in my head after every award show that I watched that year. They played it every time Slumdog won something. (And they won a lot.) A. R Rahman has easily become one of my favorite composers. Speaking of which..

9) 127 Hours
Another one by A. R Rahman. Danny Boyle makes beautiful movies, and the music really intensifies it. I loved "Never Hear Surf Music Again" and "If I Rise."

10) Inception
This movie is pretty much perfect to me, and Hans Zimmer's score is part of the reason. In fact, I wish "The Dream is Collapsing" would play every time I walked into a room, angry.

Note - I've never purchased a soundtrack from a television show, but there's plenty of songs from show's opening credits that I've downloaded. Mainly True Blood, Rescue Me, Game of Thrones, and Mad Men's themes.

Indie Gems: Smashed

The first step is acknowledging that you have a problem.

 

Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) likes to drink. I'm not talking a glass of wine at dinner drinking, I'm talking total blackout, waking up in your own piss kind of drinking. After a long night of drinking, Kate ends up vomiting in front of the 1st grade class she teaches. When one of the children asks if she's pregnant, she stupidly says that she is. The Principal (Megan McNullie) is excited for her and throws her a baby shower. Vice Principal Davies (Nick Offerman) however, saw Kate drinking in her car that morning and knows the truth. He introduces Kate to AA meetings, and to her sponsor, Jenny. (Octavia Spencer) Kate tries hard to get clean, but it doesn't have a positive effect on her husband, Charlie (Aaron Paul) who continues to drink

 

Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives on hell of a performance here. She was absolutely convincing as an addict. Someone could've easily went over the top with this, but Winstead really captures the struggles Kate goes through and none of it looks forced or comical. This really is her movie. Paul, Spencer, and Offerman are perfect in their small roles, but the bulk of the film rests on Winstead's shoulders. I think this will be a very educational film in the future. It could possibly be shown to young people that fall into alcoholism. We really see Kate hit rock bottom, and even when she's sober for a year, it's still an up hill battle. It doesn't try to simplify anything. Alcoholism will ruin your life, and getting over it make add an additional hit or two, but ultimately, it's for the better. This film really shows that.

 

Recommended: Yes

 

Grade: A

Memorable Quote: "I can't be sober when I'm with you!" - Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)

10 Times Movies/TV Have Made Me Laugh Inapprorpriately

This is the 4th entry in my 10 Series. Click the label to see my previous posts.

*Spoiler alerts*

We all have those moments when you totally laugh at something that wasn't meant to be laughed at. I tried to leave out parts from intentionally corny movies, but

1) The Horse in The Ring
I'm sure the desired reaction for this scene was: "Oh no! That poor horse!" Mine was to laugh for about 10 minutes straight. This was hysterical.

2) Eric ripping that guy's heart out on True Blood
Eric was "nice Eric" for most of season 4. When he finally gets his memory back, he reminds us why he's a badass. When somewhere dares to say "You have to get through me first." Eric rips the guy's heart out of his chest, then proceeds to drink from the valve like it's a mini capri sun. The reactions of Sookie, Jesus, and Lafayette were just the icing on this very hilarious cake.

3) "I have a brother!" scene from Kevin Costner's Robin Hood.
Whatever Kevin Costner was going for in Robin Hood, he failed miserably. But a perfect example of his failing was the scene where he finds out Will is actually his brother. Dear God, that was bad.

4) Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones/Revenge of the Sith
There was a rumor that Leonardo DiCaprio would be playing Anakin when the new Star Wars movies were being made. My dad was like "Oh God no, anyone but him!" Well, the movie god's apparently heard my dad's prayer and were like "You think that would be bad? I give you Hayden Christensen." Every time he tried to say something emotional, it came out forced. Him confessing his love for Padme? Cringeworthy. Him yelling at Obi Wan for turning her against him? Hilarious. That shouldn't have been funny. That was a huge moment for Anakin's character and his lack of dramatic acting ruined it.

5) "It makes people kill themselves. Just when you thought there wasn't anymore evil that could be invented."
I love Zooey Deschanel, I do, but she was BAD in The Happening. It's not her fault. M. Night Shaymalan just has a way of getting good actors to give horrible performances. The thing that makes this even more awkward was when Zooey and Mark Wahlberg were on a talk show promoting this movie, and they played this scene, and the camera panned to Zooey who looked absolutely embarrassed by it.

6) "The clouds are moving towards the storm!"
There was this moment in War of the World's where Tom Cruise just loses it for a second and says "The clouds are moving towards the storm" with the most ridiculous face possible. It was a total "derp" moment if you will. It made me laugh. It was like he went out of character for a split second and delivered the line like he was an idiot.

7) "Get to the Chopper!"
This is a universal unintentionally hilarious moment in film. Arnold yelling in Predator. I would be willing to bet if everyone else made an identical list to mine, this scene would be on it 90% of the time.

8) Gyp Rosetti's sexcapades on Boardwalk Empire
Crazy mother fucker Gyp Rosetti WOULD be into some kinky shit in the bedroom. When we first saw Rosetti choking himself out with a belt, I laughed. But I quickly shut up with what happened after this scene. The walk down the hallway after this is pretty much Bobby Canavale's Emmy nomination.

9) Nic Cage punching that chick in The Wicker Man remake.
I laughed inappropriately during this entire movie. No matter what they say, none of this was meant to be funny. This was just a badly executed remake.

10) "Make me feel good!" - Monster's Ball
Halle Berry won an Oscar for saying this over and over during a sex scene. It would've been way more effective if they had left this line out. Instead, it was hilarious.