Love & Other Drugs

 Love is a Hard Sell

Director: Edward Zwick
Release Date: Nov 24, 2010
Rated: R
Run Time: 113 mins
Genre: Romantic Comedy

One type of film I have never really been a big fan of over the years has been romantic comedies, More so because come on.... Romantic films of any sort just dont turn out very good when you are romantically challenged. But for my love of movies I do give them a shot to impress me with their mushy mush and laugh out loud moments.

This past week I found myself sitting in a theater with a (lady)friend and we happen to buy tickets to see Love & other drugs, in hopes to see some well....Things that the movie has been hyped around, In which case we also hoped it would bring some laughs and maybe something more.

Based off a book called "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman" in which we find the rise of one man and the popularity of the miracle sex drug Viagra. This part of the movie caught me off guard a bit but it was a different story than i was expecting in a  good way.

I must say It is one of the better romantic comedies i have seen in awhile. It may not be because of the character development and how much we know about Anne Hathaways character, Since we never really dive into her life it seems, We do find out she has Parkinson's disease and loves to mingle. But not much else is learned over the length of the film, But honestly I didnt care much about that as what Ann gave us in the screen time that she had, Was just enjoyable.

Of course the main reason I went to see the movie was for Anne's role in the film but I also was wondering how Jake Gyllenhaal would do as he has kind of been on a down slope as of late for me in film( Was not a big Prince of Persia fan and I failed to see Brothers as i heard mostly negative on it, Its on my to watch list however) but surprisingly Jake does a vibrant job as the slutty drug dealing playboy that he is. He plays Jamie Randall who cant manage to keep a job and to make matters worst his brother has struck it rich in life. But his brother has a connection to a company that is looking to make it big in the pharmaceutical business.

Right off the bat Jake does a solid job making you see how charming he is and how all the ladies just fall for him, but sure enough there has to be that One lady he just cant seem to trap. For a man that cant seem to find love...Love my just happen to find him.


Yeah so Love & Other Drugs is mostly just a Boy meets girl type of love story but deep down it has a bit more with the issues of true love winning out and taking care of some one you love, giving up things for love and well so on. It may not be my type of film but for some reason it hit the right spot for me, it might have been that viagra or it could have just been the great cast but something was done right.

Parkinson's disease is fairly known in the mainstream thanks in part to one of the best actors of my life time, Michael J. Fox, but still many people dont seem to know about the disease and how it can effect peoples lives even if they dont find themselves with the disease. This helped make the movie a step above other films in the genre in my opinion.

It has its flaws of course but i didnt mind over looking them and finding myself laughing at multiple jokes from different characters or at a moment in the film i realized i had a chill run down my spin. Anne hathaway has been nominated before for awards and i must say if she does not get a nod for her role in this I will be sad as she really shines.

In closing of this hard and yet quickie of a rant my final words to sell you hard on this movie(notice what I did there? yeah you did, didnt you?)

The movie might have some very cliche things in it but at the same time if you give any romantic comedy a first date this year, I really see no reason not to give Love & Other drugs a run at your heart.

The Human Centipede

 

100% medically accurate.

Director: Tom Six
Release Date: Oct 5, 2010
Rated: Unrated
Run Time: 92 minutes

Have you ever sat down with friends and thought about making a movie before? Come up with some stupid or insane ideas that "no one will ever think of?" I think most people have had some crazy idea and some twisted discussion when it comes to horror films.

One man that had an idea Tom Six, Who wrote and Directed this twisted tale of tourists visiting a nice charming Doctor. I have to admit with all the ideas i have ever had when thinking about making a film, the concept behind "The Human Centipede" never seemed to crawl into my mind.

The cast was nothing to stand up and shout to your friends about, Some people may know Akihiro Kitamura as he did make a small appearance in the TV Show "Heroes" and has a few other credits to his career but nothing that stands out to the everyday movie goer.  The star of the film is without a doubt Dieter Laser who plays Dr. Heiter, He has that dark and twisted look that just fits the role, Kind of reminds me of Saw star Tobin Bell. He just has that dark side that can freak you out with the most calm of looks. We also have two young ladies who are seemingly our main characters in Ashley Williams and Ashlynn Yennie.

The start of the film focus on the two woman who happen to be traveling around Germany, They go out looking for a nice fun adventure since they happen to be so far from home, why not try and get into some trouble? Of course this means the girls have car trouble and soon find themselves running around in some storm trying to find shelter.  I must say the acting from the girls at the start seemingly bugged me but I soon forgot about their acting.

Finally the movie starts to pick up as the woman find their way to Dr. Heiters home, which from the looks of it is a very nice place, minus the creepy art work hanging from the walls. Soon enough the doctor takes advantage of the cold, wet and lost women with his smooth skills.

The movie kicks into full on twisted gear from this point on, Im not sure what to really say from this point on because its just one of the movies you have to witness for yourself. It has already gained a cult following and for solid reasons. The basic idea and the twisted feel of the movie demands a view.

But with that said the movie does seemingly fail to be more than just another tourist/gore porn type of film. The Dr has his own twisted room to torture his lovely guest and thus they must try and escape without him noticing. Things get pretty tight and tense as the movie pushes on but the outcome does seem pretty simple to figure out but that might not be something that is on your mind as you watch this film.

If you happen to enjoy twisted films, Torture porn, Americans being screwed over or just something a bit different than what happens to be playing at the local cinema. Then i say why not give The Human Centipede a try, it is by no means a movie for everyone it will have a select group of fans but could you find yourself in that group?


If you happen to fall victim to Dr. Heiter what did you think of his work? was it worth the pain or was it boring you to death?

On a side note i must say I really do like the poster for this film, nice and creepy.

Freaked

 A thinking man's stupid comedy

Director: Tom Stern & Alex Winter
Release Date: 1 October 1993 (USA)
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 86 min | USA:80 min | 79 min (Netflix edition)

Movies come and go all the time, As do the actor and actress that we see each and every day talking about how they have reached that moment in their career that they will never forget and that it was their moment in time.

Freaked is not that moment for anyone really. Its more so a film that brought in some big named stars just to see what they could do with the star power but at the same time the movie ended up with a limited release and no one ever witnessed the freak show. Until it became a cult classic.

The movie "Freaked" stars Alex Winter as a former child star "Ricky Coogin" who becomes the spokesman for the EES(Everything Expect Shoes) to try and promote the toxic experimental goop called Zygrot-27 which of course has been banned in the US and Europe. Ricky finds himself and his best friend Ernie(played by Michael Stoyanov) in Santa Flan to calm the people and get the EES a good name. They run into a protestor named Julie (Megan Ward) For some odd reason they end up in Freak World that is owned by Elijah C. Skuggs(played by non other than Randy Quaid) Of course Skuggs turns out to be the bad guy and has been turning tourist into Freaks. Thus the adventure of our group becomes one of escaping...

Other wise I dont really know how to explain much else that happens in this movie from start to finish. It does have one of the best roles i have ever seen Randy Quaid in and that is no joke. He was a perfect fit in this film. We also have a few other random actors appear in the film such as Mr T and Brooke Shields. Along with a crazy appearance by "Ted" as a crazy dog man.

The special effects in this movie are some of my personal favorites, its the kind you hardly see these days because of al the computer generated stuff has become so cheap and has taken over hollywood. The costumes and make up are awesome on many of the Freaks( Beast Boy of course) and you also have the typical we didnt try make up (The sockman) but all of the costumes fit so well and just make you laugh or in some cases freak out.

If you like trippy out of this world campy films that might make you think,You should enjoy Freaked. They take little shots at cult films or just do things you may not find in films these days (The Troll character) You may also enjoy seeing how much things have changed and have focused more on CGI than actual costumes(which is a big deal to me but might not be for others) over the years. Of course some people still make cheese some what like this today but its never as good as the 90's

It is on Netflix Instant watch at the time of this rant review so who knows maybe you might get bored and check it out.. Is it a B Reel Classic?

The Walking Dead

Based on the Hit comic series by Robert Kirkman

Release Date: Debuted Oct 31, 2010 on AMC
Rated: TV MA
Run Time:  60 Minutes
Episodes: 6(at this time)
Genre: Horror


A television series involving zombies? How could anyone pull this feat off? No way they could take what Robert Kirkman has been splattering on the pages of his hit comic series "The Walking Dead" over the past several years. The blood is not a rarity nor is the maturity of this series so could anybody really bring this to the small screen and make it worth the time of day?

The first episode is in the books now, things could easily change but my thoughts from this first hour and a half that we have been given is not something to be scared of.

I must say that without a doubt anything can happen in the next five episodes that could change my thoughts on this debut series, but I want to just give this series a review based off its first episode, which is a bit crazy to do, But i have my opinion and I dont mind sharing my braaaaaiiiiinnnns with you all.

TV is one thing I dont often check into, I have no currently active series that i truly follow, After "Lost" finished up I wasnt sure if i would have anything to really put my Tivo to use with. But Now that Frank Darabont (Man behind  "The Shawshank Redemption and most recently one of my personal favorite films "The Mist" Not a bad track record) has put plenty of effort into the 90 minute pilot for AMC.

But has the thought of a zombie tv series sunk in yet? Think about all the violence that is in movies such as "Dawn of the dead" or "28 days later" Could you imagine a show like that? Maybe on Showtime or HBO right? But not on cable.... Well AMC seems to be the go to channel for your mature content these days.

The series opens with a bloody child zombie and a nice headshot to finish her off, It instantly told me that AMC doesnt plan to treat this show poorly it will put all its effort into making it a worth while series with all the same content that you may see in popular zombie films and of course the hit comic series.

Without spoiling much the first episode introduces us to the main character of Rick Grimes played by Andrew Lincoln who isnt a house hold name, So right off the bat the casting may not get peoples attention, This actually might be the downfall to the series is the lack of true star power, Could it be that new stars are bore from the tragedy of the undead? Only time will tell when it comes to a TV Series, but not much you could really tell from one episode but I have to say Andrew has the look and seemed to fit the role thus far.

Rick Grimes is a sheriff's deputy from a small town who ends up getting shot while stopping a car chase, he awakes in a hospital alone with no answer to his cry for help. As he makes his way around the abandon hospital he slowly realizes the world has changed since the last time he was awake. Soon enough he finds his way to the streets which are just as lonely as the hospital was, Until we meets up with a father and son duo who inform Rick that the world has been infected by the Walking Dead.

As hard as it is to believe he must find his family as any hero knows his family is waiting to be rescued from this nightmare. The show seems to cover issue one of the comic pretty well.  Rick finds himself in search of his family only to end up in the big city. He is not alone.

The soundtrack looks to be a winner as the very calm and creepy music or lack of fits the new world that rick finds himself in now. The background sound is amazing at times you can just tell that the character is not alone that something is hiding in the shadows, The music is not about ripping your face off its more so a slight stabbing that just adds to the horror of things.

Something that plenty of people had brought up was the Comic series is black and white and how would that effect the TV Series if at all? Well of course the show is not black in white by any means, The red flows as crimson as you'd expect it to. But at the same time the series has its own feel to it, It has a very gritty feel to it, not your normal viewing experience it brings things more so down to earth, things dont seem to pop out oddly its more of a real effect that keeps you in the world of the dead.

Either way the Story, Sound, Look and Maturity are all things that make this series a Must watch thus far. Things could change as Days go by.

The only thing that might worry me is some of the casting with no huge names to hold the cast together these guys need to bond and bring each other together as family we will care about. We want to see them survive and keep on breathing. Hopefully Carol(the son) can be a stand out actor as he has plenty of air time ahead to shine bright.

I have Faith. Thus far it is an amazing adaptation of a great comic series. If you enjoy Zombies or end of the world situations or maybe just want a more mature series to watch, this would be the one to keep your eye on.


This is defiantly a hard little rant to post as its only based off the pilot episode and my fandom of the comic series but of course as always I would like you to judge it for yourself.
one thing is for sure....I hope the dead keep on walking.

Extra Life.

Whoa this weekend has been insane. I woke up around 3pm on sunday, Missing some crazy looking football games(upsets Patriots, Seahawks, Eagles) But thankfully I did not miss my jaguars play because they have a Monday Night Game vs the Titans tomorrow night.
But why in the blue hell would I wake up so late in the day? Well that is because I partook in my second annual Extra Life.

What is Extra Life you may ask? Well I'm guessing by now most anyone who knows me has heard of it since i have spammed Facebook and twitter and whatever for the past few weeks. But just in case you have been hiding under a rock for some odd reason....

Extra Life is a charity program in collaboration with Sarcastic Gamer to raise money for Children's hospitals around the US. What must one do to earn the money for the children? Hunt bears? Wrestling dwarfs? Repetitively get kicked in the testicles? No no...Nothing to that extreme. Honestly you just play Video Games for 24 hours.

I woke up saturday morning(after falling asleep at 3am) around 7:30 only to start my 24 hours of gaming at 8am. I would force myself to play video games until sunday morning at 8am on the dot.

Did I make it? Did i play games for the full period? Did i pass out? Was i bored? What the hell happened in 24 hours?

Well I made it to 8 oclock sunday morning. Thanks to multiple people, Including the folks who donated to my team and helped me reach my goal(My personal goal was $200) As well as anyone who helped my team as a whole(As of right now we around just past the $2500 mark) As well as the TRS crew for raising over $6500.

I would like to say Thank you to my friends who came over and brought food or video games and helped play some games.

Travis, Played some Wii and first to pass out around midnight.
Shawna, Brought pizza and helped me beat Halo Reach.
Pat, Brought Taco Bell and some encouraging words.
Tim and Eryn, For stopping by and playing some Halo Reach and Rock Band.

As well as my Mother who was shocked to see I was still awake when she woke up this morning.

As well as some twitter shout outs to folks who helped by donating.
@smellthecheese @alfonsopyro @siraim & @dylissia along with @taozoo4u and my friend Steve. Along with others who I didnt get to thank. So i take this second to say Thank you :D

I just wanted to List the games I played:

Red Dead Redemption: Over 7 hours and finally reached the end of the game(apparently i have one last mission that i refuse to do, as i want to explore the world more)

Madden NFL 11: Over 7 hours, For the second year in a Row @seandps has fallen to the Jacksonville Jaguars online. Final was 34-0 over the Rams. It really was a solid game until the final quarter, It was 7-0 until he fumbled 3 times and had I think five INTs? Anyways....Looking forward to next years match up. I also played several madden moments and Played franchise mode killing the Titans and Chiefs.

Halo Reach: Over 3 hours. Finally beat it on Heroic thanks to Shawna. Also played some firefight with Tim. Shockingly I never found myself on Xbox Live.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Over 2 hours. Thanks to Travis for helping me find the wii and get it back up and running, It was fun. I remember why i love this game. Just need someone to play it with.

Rock Band 2: Over 2 hours. Why in the hell did i buy a lady gaga song? Anyways.... This is of course the perfect group game to kill some time. Plus killed time looking at downloadable content which i hadnt viewed in along time. Also purchased Re:Your Brains(JC) and Saviour(Rise against)

Puzzle Quest 2: 42 minutes. FINALLY i beat that stupid Ogre. Dugog. Unlocking an achievement in the process.

A few more little titles with some game play was:
Angry Birds- iPhone
Movie Challenge -iPhone
Legend of Zelda(downloadable on Wii)

Then some time trying to hook up the Wii and find some batteries and so on. Next year i hope to have everything ready to go. I never did turn on the PS3 like i had planed.

It was fun for sure. I can not wait to kick some butt next year as well.

Now Im stil flipping sleepy....I just wanted to ramble a bit. Take down some notes and hand out some thank yous to everyone who helped me during this.

Donations are still welcome up until Nov 14(i think its the 14) http://bit.ly/aVyQ2L
Take it easy.

Sean @ the Movies: The Town, Avatar re-release and A Single Man

So after a long break, I am back. Really missed out on seeing a few movies that I wanted to catch in the theater, but the way things are going they will be out on DVD/Blu-Ray in a few months, But let’s talk about the movies I have seen.

First up, is the The Town, directed by Ben Affleck, and stars Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall and according to the ads and trailers, Blake Lively, but she is barely in it. The story is about one of the suburbs of Boston, I believe it’s Charleston, which according to the text you get at the beginning of the film, has a real high crime rate for bank robberies. Affleck (the brains) and Renner (the brawn) are the two main guys in a team, and after a recent bank heist, they end up taking Hall ( a bank manager)  as a hostage and end up letting her go, but Affleck decides to keep an eye on her. She gets interviewed by Don Draper himself (Hamm), who is the lead on a FBI task force team who are out to stop this group of bank heists. But I have to say that the bank heists take a back seat during this movie, this is more a movie about brotherhood, family and honor if anything. Some of what happens next can be seen in some of the trailers and ads, but I feel most people would be able to figure out ahead of time what is going to happen in the end. The story is not perfect, and the overall acting is decent, all though there are a few times where the Boston accents are so thick, it almost seems like they are over exaggerating them a bit. All I can picture is Affleck and Damon in Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, where they are supposedly filming Good Will Hunting 2. Hamm was able to somewhat distance himself from Mad Men a bit, there was a few times where Don Draper seemed to come out during the movie. If you want to see a great bank heist movie, this is not it, but I still thought it was a decent movie, and I would say that if your out and going to see a movie, this would be a decent movie to see. Otherwise I think you could most likely wait until it comes out on DVD.

Next up, I took my parents who have never seen a recent 3D movie in the theaters, to go see the re-release of Avatar in 3D, at our local Lie-Max. The ads say that there are 8 minutes of additional footage, and for those that already have seen it, what your really missing out on is: more of the creatures, a somewhat extended sex scene, and the scene that really stuck out in my mind, a scene involving Tsu’tey after he falls at the end of the movie and one of the Na’vi death rituals. But overall my opinion of the movie, is pretty much the same, the visuals are amazing, and the story is not so much. But I do recommend that if you can see it in IMAX 3D still, that is the best way to see it, not on your TV at home. If it’s not play at your local IMAX, I am sure if you wait a few more months, he will re-release it once again, with some more footage. And by the way, my parents enjoyed the movie, in case any one was wondering.

And the last movie for this batch of reviews, is Tom Ford’s directing debut, A Single Man, starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and Matthew Goode. The movie is about Firth, who is gay, and just recently lost the love of his life in a car accident. He struggles each day to get over the past, and with all of the flashbacks in the movie, we can see why he is struggling. He has very few friends, but Moore plays his neighbor who seems to be the only lady in his life, and she has issues of her own. The overall feel that I got while watching this movie, is that it seemed like a very long fashion commercial that had a story to it. And I mean that in a good way, it was shot with an amazing look to it, and it went to great detail to show off every little detail of these people and their life. I only got to see this on DVD, but I have to say that I can only imagine how amazing this would look on Blu-ray on a nice TV. This movie is not for everyone, just because I feel most will think it’s a slow movie, and they may find the way it is shot a little distracting, but if you consider yourself a movie geek and really enjoy Oscar type films, I think you will really enjoy this. It’s not a happy film, so you may want to have a comedy or something funny ready to watch after this. It’s no Dear Zachery, but it’s still a sad movie.

Well I think that is going to wrap it up for this batch of movies, I should be seeing a newer movie tomorrow with some friends and then the Milwaukee Film Festival starts this week and I am going to see “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” and “Buried”. So I am looking forward to both of those.

So until next time, go out and see a movie!

Sean

Sean @ the Movies: My Must See Fall List of Movies

Well I just went through the Fall Movie Preview issue of EW and made up a list of the movies I am excited to see in the next few months. Lots of movies, just wonder who is going to be in my top ten at the end of the year.

So here we go....

Virginity Hit 9/10

Resident Evil: After Life 9/10

The Romantics 9/10

Never Let Me Go 9/15

Jack Goes Boating 9/17

Devil 9/17

Catfish 9/17

The Town 9/17

Easy A 9/17

Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga Hoole 9/24

It's Kind of a Funny Story 9/24

Buried 9/24

You Again 9/25

Social Network 10/1

Let Me In 10/1

I Spit on Your Grave 10/1

Jackass 3D 10/15

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest 10/15

Paranormal Activity 2 10/22

HereAfter 10/22

Monsters 10/29

Saw 3D 10/29

127 Hours 11/5

Skyline 11/12

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part One 11/19

Love and Other Drugs 11/24

Burlesque 11/24

Black Swan 12/1

Tron Legacy 12/17

Somewhere 12/22

The Illusionists 12/25

Well that is quite the list, and I really hope I can see all of these movies. If you want to know more about these movies, I suggest heading over to IMDB or /film to get more details.

So until next time, go out and see a movie!

Sean