March Is a Huge Month for Movies

Welcome back readers, Luke here with my Sunday blog.  I believe tonight is the Academy Awards.  I am going to go with the “Hurt Locker” for best picture.  I know Avatar is highly rumored to win but I think maybe the “Hurt Locker” has a chance.            

If you are like me and one of the 10 people who didn’t see Avatar you won’t have to wait long.  It will be released in April.  Unfortunately it will be strictly 2-D.  A 3-D version similar to the theatrical is planned to be released around Christmas time.  Rumor has it though that you would need a 3-D T.V. to actually be able to view it.  3-D Televisions are getting released this summer.           

I have a couple of suggested websites for anyone who is looking for free but legal sources of entertainment.  We all have by now heard of the infamous Youtube but 2 new contenders have entered the internet viewing market.  The first Hulu.com is very quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.  Hulu specializes in television shows, recent ones.  If you missed the latest episode of “House M.D.” or “Family Guy”, Hulu.com will have it on the site after a week.  Some shows only require an 8 to 12 hour waiting period.  The list of offered shows is far too long to mention and Hulu also has some movies available.  

Hulu is advertisement supported, but the good news is unlike standard T.V. with it’s marathons of commercials; Hulu only puts 30 second commercials into it’s shows 3 to 4 times.  You’ll find a 30 minute show will only be around 22 minutes with Hulu. 

The second contender is Crackle.com which is primarily a movie website.  Crackle, I believe is owned by Sony Entertainment, and mainly shows (obviously) Sony owned movies.  Now you won’t be finding brand new movies mind you; but there are tons of unknown and forgotten classics just waiting to be viewed for free.  “Cliffhanger” with Sylvester Stallone along with the black and white classic  ”Dr. Strangelove” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” are just a few of the gems I have found.  Crackle is free to use and supported by advertisements.  Like Hulu you will have 4 to 5 commercials throughout the movie.  Not bad at all, and Crackle also offers T.V. shows, but they are not as impressive as the ever changing movie line up.  

Well, that’s two suggestions for this week, when I find more useful sites I will pass them on to you.  Now on to some movie reviews.  I only had time this weekend for two reviews and here they are. 

Old Dogs 

1 out of 5 stars

Starring:  John Travolta, Robin Williams, with Kelly Preston and Seth Green.

Rated: PG, Family/Comedy. 

            I had high hopes for this one going into it, but was horribly disappointed.  If not for this blog I would have popped this one out very quickly.  The film is meant to be kid friendly and thus was devoid of anything funny for adults.  The movie crawls at a snail’s pace and you will be glancing at your watch during this one.  Actually I would bet kids would get bored with this one.  Despite my stern warning to avoid this one here is the premise.           

Robin Williams and John Travolta are two businessmen who are now both not married.  They are “sports marketers” or something like that, and have a very big impending deal with some Japanese businessmen.  Suddenly Williams finds out that he has 2 kids from a one day marriage 7 years earlier.  The mom played by John Travolta’s real life wife Kelly Preston is going to jail for 2 weeks and needs someone to watch the kids.  So it is left up to the inexperienced John and Robin to take care of the children.            

An occasional slapstick gag like a golf ball hitting Seth Green’s private area was the only humor I chuckled at.  I would recommend you and the kids avoid this one. 

Planet 51

1 out of 5 stars

Starring the voices of:  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Justin Long, Jessica Biel, and Gary Oldman.

Rated:  PG, Family/Animated/Comedy. 

            Unfortunately this one was another dud.  Simply put, this is an animated 1950′s alien movie in reverse.  An Earth astronaut is the invader in this one, voiced by Dwayne Johnson.  This movie was not the least bit entertaining.  Extremely long, or so it seemed, and quite boring this computer generated cartoon will be forgotten very quickly.  Even the all star voice cast didn’t save this one for me.  If you are looking for animated features that will entertain both you parents and kids, I would suggest the already released “Monsters vs. Aliens” or “Disney’s Ponyo.”  Both will be better watches and give you the expected chuckle you are looking for. 

          Do not despair though March 9, 2010 has more to offer than just these poorly reviewed comedies.  Unfortunately I did not have time to review these, as I see them I will compile reviews for them.  Here are the rest of the upcoming Blu-Ray and DVD releases for Tuesday along with some synopses. 

Up In the Air

Rated: R, Drama/Comedy.

Starring:  George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick. 

Clooney is a jet setting businessman whom I believe is torn between two women, or at least that’s what the trailer told me.  Up for a slew of Academy Awards, it will be interesting how it performs tonight. 

Boondock Saints 2

Rated: R, Action

Starring:  Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, with Peter Fonda and Billy Connolly. 

Not seeing the first one I am not quite sure what the premise for this movie is.  But I can tell you that several people I have spoken with who saw it in theaters said it was great.  Although only released in limited theaters, I believe it will be a monster on home release. 

Precious

Rated:  R, Drama

Starring:  Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, along with many others. 

This movie is very dark and sad story from what I can gather.  It centers on a teenage African American woman “Claireece Precious Jones” who has numerous strikes going against her in life.  Whether it be her physically abusive mother played by “Mo’Nique” or the fact that she is a single mother of one child with another on the way, followed by her struggle with her weight Precious despite all this still has dreams of rising above it all.  Up for best picture, this may be the one that if the “Hurt Locker” misses, may take the best picture instead of “Avatar”. 

Capitalism: A Love Story

Documentary 

            Michael Moore is at it again in his latest documentary.  Moore focuses on the economy in this movie along with the huge failing banks and the loss of jobs in America; followed by the bail outs done by the government.  He plans on showing the viewer how big business is breaking the law and stealing from the little guy with almost no consequences. 

            Well that’s it for this week; I will be logging on Monday morning to Google to see all the big award winners for the Academy Awards.  I will say I don’t think “Avatar” will win best picture.  I’m calling it for “The Hurt Locker” followed by “Precious” as my second prediction.  Thanks for reading and remember stay entertained, it’ll keep you sane in this insane world.

Welcome To Luke’s What To Watch

Welcome To My Blog 

            My name is Luke and I love movies.  My blog is still a work in progress so it will probably look different from time to time.  To start things off I simply will say I work in a video store, am an aspiring writer and amateur doodler.  I am writing this blog to share honest unbiased reviews of movies, T.V. shows and internet videos.  I feel that movies are the best thing man has ever invented and will strive to point you toward good films, and help you avoid the bad ones.  So without further delay let’s get to the reviews for this week.  My scoring is based on a simple 5 star system.  Five stars is the best possible for me, while 1 star is something terrible. 

2012 

5 out of 5 stars

Staring:  John Cusack, Danny Glover, and Oliver Platt, with Woody Harrelson.

Rated: PG-13, Action/Disaster 

            Let me start by saying I think this may be the best disaster film ever made.  2012 the actual year is believed by many to be the year that the world is going to end for us all, just like 2000 right?  Well, basically without spoiling the story here is the lowdown.

            The sun is kicking out a lot more solar radiation than usual and this radiation is cooking the Earth like a microwave from the inside out.  Once the governments of the world get wind of this they begin a frantic 3 year plan to try and save something of humanity and government.  Enter John Cusack, a failed writer turned limo driver who against insurmountable odds is trying to save his kids from the impending disaster.  With appearances by Danny Glover portraying a Barock Obama-ish president.  I found his performance as the United States President to be fantastic and even though his screen time is short, it was one of the best performances of the movie.  The film also has a cameo by Woody Harrelson.  Harrelson portrays a crazy recluse whose theories on the apocalypse turn out not to be so crazy after all.  This film is a bit long, but kept me entertained the whole time.  Extremely full of action, this movie also has some emotionally charged scenes as well that may induce some tears in some viewers.  Releasing on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 2, this is one film worth seeing. 

Ponyo 

4 out of 5 stars

Starring the voice talents of:  Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, with Betty White and many other voice talents as well.

Rated: G, Animated/Fantasy. 

            I don’t normally watch Disney movies, the last Disney I watched and liked was Pirates of the Caribbean 2.  But this Disney is only Disney in name.  This I believe is more suitably an Anime.  Anime for anyone who doesn’t know is basically an animated film that is produced in Japan.  Anime is actually one of Japan’s biggest exports, and now with the Toyota scandal may become # 1.  Anime is drastically different than American Animation.  For starters Anime is more detailed and has a fuller color variety.  Anime is enjoyed by adults and kids alike, unlike most cartoons.  Well, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, but I can honestly say it did not disappoint me.  The film is extremely easy and enjoyable to watch.  Once it was finished in Japan, Disney brought the film over to the U.S. and assembled and impressive voice cast for the English voice over.  While this film will not be for everyone, I believe a lot of children will like it and any adults who are fans of Anime will enjoy it as well.

            Ponyo is basically the story of the Little Mermaid redone for a new audience.  With some scenes so full of color and action, it definitely gave my LCD T.V. a work out.  Ponyo hits the shelves on Tuesday March 2 on Blu-Ray and DVD, and I believe will become a classic for Disney. 

Couples Retreat 

3 out of 5 stars

Starring:  Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Kristen Bell.

Rated: PG-13, Comedy 

            I watched this one on DVD back during the height of the blizzard of 2010.  I had just finished a long stint at the video store and had been stuck away from home going on 3 days.  I risked death driving my little car home on roads covered in 4 inches of snow and ice and after getting home finally popped this film in.  As promised it did make me laugh, not quite like the Hangover did months ago, but laugh none the less.  Perhaps I wouldn’t have sat through this one if I hadn’t been so tired, but in hind sight I’m glad I did.  This film while not side splitting is funny and definitely worth seeing once.  It is not a repeat watch though.  The basic plot is 4 couples go on a tropical get away that is supposed to strengthen and save relationships. 

            If you need a good laugh and are not in the mood for action or drama, pick this one up.  Currently on Blu-Ray and DVD, this warm climate movie will get your mind off the cold outdoors for a couple of hours. 

The Box 

1 out of 5 stars

Starring:  Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella.

Rated:  PG-13, Suspense/Thriller.

            The Box is based off a 40 year old short story call “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson.  Matheson has had several stories converted to film.  “What Dreams May Come”, “I am Legend” to name a couple.  This one is however horrible compared to his other adaptations.  The movie takes a very simple short story and stretches it out for 2 hours.  I frankly almost went to the theaters for this one thinking it would be good like the short story, I would have vainly begged for a refund if I had gone.  I even fast forwarded through the DVD; it was that bad.  I am not exactly sure what happened in the film, being that it made no sense, but here is what I could gather.  A disfigured man played by Frank Langella comes to Diaz and Marsden’s house with an offer.  He will leave a “Button Unit” with them for 24 hours, if they push the button they will get 1 million dollars, but somewhere in the world someone they don’t know will die.  From this intriguing offer the movie takes some very bizarre twists and turns and frankly lost me along the way.

            Already on Blu-Ray and DVD, I would recommend you read the book instead. 

In Closing 

            Well that’s it for this week.  I’ll be writing one blog per week, so keep tuning in.  I will review new movies, T.V. shows and popular internet videos every week and give honest unbiased reviews for everything.  Thank you for reading and stay entertained.